The Ag e-Dispatch

Spring Commencement second Saturday in May

Wed, 08 May 2013 15:35:32 -0500

A&T's Spring Commencement will be Saturday, May 11, at the Greensboro Coliseum. SAES students who will be receiving diplomas should be at the Coliseum at 8 a.m.; as should faculty who will be participating in the processional, which will begin at 8:30 a.m. There is also a rehearsal that degree candidates are required to attend at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 10, in the Corbett Sports Center. The A&T Commencement Web page has a number of important announcements for students receiving degrees this spring.

The commencement speaker will be Dmitri Stockton who left A&T with a bachelor's in accounting in 1986 that gave him a leg up in a career in banking and financial services that hit full stride when he was named president and CEO of General Electric Asset Management (GEAM) in 2010. GEAM is currently managing $120 billion in assets, and the firm has more than 150 investment professionals in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia and South America. Stockton joined GE in 1987, and became a vice president for the firm in 2005. In 2009, Stockton was selected by Black Enterprise Magazine as one of the 100 Most Powerful Corporate Executives in America, and in 2012 he was chosen by Savoy Magazine as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Blacks in Corporate America.

$5k for the sweetie pie

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 17:44:18 -0500

The American Association of Candy Technologists (AACT) has a $5,000 scholarship — the John Kitt Memorial Scholarship— for a sophomore, junior or senior majoring in a food, chemical or biological science who has a demonstrated interest in confectionary technology. For the AACT, evidence of interest in confectionary tech. includes research projects and work experience. Applicants should also have an overall GPA of at least 3.0. Applications for the 2013-14 John Kitt Memorial Scholarship must be submitted by April 12.

Tome up time

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:59:50 -0500

The Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at A&T has requested recommendations for the 2013-2014 Text-in-Community book that faculty, staff and students will all be encouraged to read, discuss and incorporate into coursework and extracurricular activities. Suggestions should be submitted to the chair of the Text in Community Committee, Dr. Beverly Grier no later than Friday, March 15.

The Text-in-Community selection committee for 2013-14 is especially interested in books addressing climate change and the environment, health disparities among minority populations, African-American studies and global affairs. Another source of inspiration for Text-in-Community nominations is the selection for 2012-13, which was well received. That selection was The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates a book by an African American author who noticed, in 2000, that news of his Rhodes Scholarship was appearing in the same issue of Baltimore newspapers as coverage of a botched robbery that led to the death of a police officer, and one of the four men wanted for questioning was also named Wes Moore. The book traces the lives of two men with the same name whose lives followed very different trajectories.

Townes and gowns

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:27:33 -0500

The A&T State University Founders' Day Convocation this year will bring retired U.S. Rep. Edolphus Townes to campus to deliver the keynote address on Thursday, March 21. Townes left Congress in 2012 after serving 15 terms representing Brooklyn's 10th Congressional District and other districts in metropolitan New York. A 1956 graduate of A&T, Townes received the 2012 Chair's Leadership Award (formerly the Presidential Award) from his alma mater. While a member of Congress, Townes championed legislation increasing consumer protection, public education, minority business development, and initiatives to reduce chronic diseases.

The March 21 Founders’ Day Convocation will be from 10 a.m. to noon in Harrison Auditorium. Faculty participation in the Founders' Day processional is required. Academic regalia are also required. The processional line-up will begin to assemble at 9:30 a.m., and the processional itself will be on the march at 9:45 a.m.

Double-check the check

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 19:11:50 -0500

The payroll deposit receipts that SAES employees receive at the end of January should reflect any changes in benefits and deductions that were authorized during the enrollment period last fall. If you made changes in benefits or deductions last fall, remember to check that your deposit receipt reflects them, and contact Human Resources promptly if your payroll deductions aren't correct.

The payroll deposit receipts that SAES employees receive at the end of January will also reflect the 12/31/12 expiration of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, which in turn terminates a reduction of Social Security taxes to 4.2 percent and returns the FICA take on taxable income to 6.2 percent.

Spring Career Fair set for third Thursday in February

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 18:33:18 -0500

A&T’s Office of Career Services is expecting more than 150 corporate recruiters, and representatives from government agencies and other employers to campus for the University's Spring Career Fair sending representatives to campus are Butterball, LLC, Cargill, Frito Lay, MillerCoors and Sanderson Farms Inc.. Agribusiness firms and state and federal agencies with internship programs as well as employment opportunities will also have representative available to meet with students. Students attending the Career Fair are advised to dress professionally for the occasion, and to bring along their Banner ID numbers as well as neat and typo-free copies of their resumes.

Winter’s wonders should be exclusively aesthetic

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 18:32:13 -0500

When snow, ice and other wintry conditions have A&T faculty and staff wondering whether or not to report to work, University administrators work to reach a decision between 6 and 6:15 a.m. The best places to catch the breaking news are Greensboro television and radio stations, and the A&T Web page. A&T faculty, staff and students can also sign up for the "AggieAlert" emergency notification system to get closing and delayed opening announcements sent to their A&T e-mail accounts.

If there is not an announced closing or a late opening by 6:30 a.m., faculty, staff and students should assume the University is open for business as usual. When the University is open, employees who are absent or report late will have the missed time charged to vacation, bonus leave or earned compensatory time. When the University is officially closed, there are options in addition to debiting vacation leave, and the University's adverse weather policy has details on the options for making amends when work schedules are disrupted by the weather.

If your home is far enough from your SAES office that you find yourself wondering, before you start your morning commute, how much better (or worse) the weather is on campus, don't forget about the weather station at the University Farm when winter storms hit the area. The weather station at the farm came online in 2007 as one of 1,063 active sites collecting weather data in and around North Carolina for the N.C. Climate Retrieval and Observations of the Southeast database (NC CRONOS). It's also part of the N.C. Environment and Climate Observing Network (ECONet), which has been established by the State Climate Office for a range of commercial, safety and technological benefits. A list of eight key benefit areas for ECONet includes crop management, pest management, and community and economic development. Technicians from the State Climate Office maintain the weather station at the University Farm.

Should the forecasters seem to agree that a big winter storm is headed toward the Triad, a website that may prove a wise last call should it look as if power outages might disrupt Internet connectivity is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website devoted to safety precautions as winter storms approach. The website covers preparation for power outages, food and water supply disruptions, and alternatives for heat and transportation that should be considered.

Offer for those wishing to eschew flu

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 16:14:39 -0500

A&T's Division of Human Resources is collaborating with insurance carriers and a health care provider to offer free flu shots to A&T employees and their family members covered by the State Health Plan or Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) on Tuesday, November 20 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the 1020 E. Wendover Building. Children younger than 4 will not be eligible for flu shots on Nov. 5. Parents or guardians of children under 4 will need to take their children to a physician or health care provider.

Sleeves up

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 16:53:25 -0500

New print and design guidelines

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 16:51:01 -0500

SAES faculty and staff creating documents, posters, fliers, Web content and other communications materials should be aware of new requirements governing the use of the university’s name, logo and other branding materials. University Relations released new publication and design guidelines earlier this year, and Chancellor Harold Martin has urged all campus to comply with those new standards.

Highlights of the new requirements are that:

The university’s name must be spelled out in its entirety on first reference: North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. No abbreviations, no ampersand.
The interlocking A&T logo is now a registered trademark and its use must be accompanied by the “circle-R” symbol: ®.
Approval for all printed documents and materials must be approved by University Relations, including those from Cooperative Extension and the Agricultural Research Program, which are first vetted through Ag. Communications.
Requests for the logo should be made to Charles Watkins, cewatkin@ncat.edu in University Relations. Faculty should specify the type of file they need -- i.e., jpeg or vector -- in the request.

For more information about the new guidelines visit: http://www.ncat.edu/divisions/advancement/university-relations/pdfs-images/ncat-styleguide-fall12-2.pdf

Sophomoric singularity

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 16:48:21 -0500

SAES sophomores have until Oct. 19 to submit their research work for George Barthalmus Undergraduate Research Grants: awards of $100 to $500 that will be presented as part of the eighth annual State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research & Creativity Symposium. Applications for a Barthalmus Grant require a 500-word essay on the importance of research to the student's plans for the future; a description of the research no longer than two pages; and a one-page budget summary. The grants will be awarded for research work that comes to a conclusion before September of 2013.

Freshmen, juniors and seniors (and sophomores not in the hunt for a Barthalmus Grant) have until 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 22, to register abstracts for displays, and poster and oral presentations covering their research work that they would like to present at the conference.

Duke University will host the Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium on Saturday Nov. 17.

First kickoff for Homecoming 2012 set for Webb lawn

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 16:33:01 -0500

The SAES will be kicking off Homecoming Weekend with a reception for alumni on the lawn in front of Webb Hall on Friday, Oct. 26, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Current SAES faculty, staff and students are invited to stop by the reception to give a warm welcome to returnees and bid fond farewells to food and beverages.

The Homecoming parade will start at 8 a.m. on Murrow Boulevard on Saturday, Oct. 27. The parade route runs from Murrow onto Lindsay, and then culminates on Laurel. The Norfolk State Spartans will be coming to Greensboro for the 2012 Homecoming football game, which will get started at 1:30 at Aggie Stadium.

Second Saturday in October is University Day

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 16:10:46 -0500

The Office of Admissions is inviting high school juniors and seniors (along with many of the parents of prospective students) to Greensboro for the 2012 University Day Academic Expo: Saturday, Oct. 13, from 8 a.m. to noon at the Corbett Health Sports Center. Students and their families who visit Greensboro to explore what A&T has to offer will find one-stop shopping at Corbett on University Day. Admissions representatives will be available to discuss financial aid and academic programs, and to arrange campus tours. Guests coming to A&T for University Day can also get discount tickets ($10) for A&T’s gridiron clash with Howard, which begins at 1:30 p.m.

Don't ride off into the sunset without saddling up

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:02:39 -0500

Members of the SAES faculty and staff for whom the 2012-13 academic year is going to be the culmination of a career and the start of the golden years should start final preparations at one of the retirement conferences that the State Treasurer's Retirement Systems Division offers members of the Teachers and State Employees Retirement System (TSERS). Programs covering the TSERS are presented the same days as a program covering the Local Governmental Employees Retirement Systems, with the former starting at 9:30 a.m. and the latter at 1:30 p.m. The 2.5 hour programs serve as orientations for those who have recently retired or soon shall, and they also serve as pre-retirement seminars for those just beginning to think about retirement. The Greensboro installment in the current retirement seminar schedule is Sept. 11, at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. Those who've got an irreconcilable scheduling conflict on Sept. 11 will have Durham Nov. 13, and Thomasville Nov. 27 as their most obvious options for seminars close to Greensboro.

The Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System has revamped its website so that it now brings together all the forms and policies for employees on the brink of retirement who need to do some serious planning and for employees just daydreaming about retirement and wondering how their years of service will translate into monthly benefit checks. The new website also has all that retired employees need to review their benefits programs or make changes.

Travel tips

Wed, 22 Aug 2012 16:45:19 -0500

Through Dec. 16, Amtrak's Campus Visit Discount promotion will be an option for prospective Aggies who would like to visit Greensboro along with a parent or guardian. (Parents and guardians of high school juniors and seniors can get a second ticket at 50 percent off when they buy one full adult fare for travel to college campuses on Amtrak routes.) Visits to Greensboro via Amtrak begin at the Galyon Depot, that’s very convenient to campus. Once at Galyon, prospective Aggies will find a HEAT (Higher Education Area Transit) shuttle leaving every hour that arrives at Bluford Circle on the A&T campus 10 minutes later.