Getchell’s future up to legislature

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

The future of Getchell Library is in the hands of the Nevada State Legislature, which will decide whether to pay $10.5 million for renovations or allow the building to mothball.

The legislature will make its decision during its 2009 session. The plan calls for renovating 155,000 square feet of the existing 177,000. If the legislature approves the funding, renovation would start in 2010, said Stephen Mischissin, the interim vice president of facilities services department.

Getchell Library was built in 1962, and the building needs to be brought up to today’s building codes, he said.

The plan calls for a new sprinkler system, fire alarms, ramps and elevators in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, he said.

“They’re life and safety upgrades,” he said.

The University of Nevada, Reno submitted a Capital Improvements Project request to retrofit the library for another use to the Board of Regents, who sent it to the Nevada Public Works Board.

Paul Neil, director of the university core curriculum office, said the old library would be turned into a student services building and an informal learning space. Student Success Services, currently in the Thompson Student Services building, might move to the Getchell space.

The first floor of the old library would house student advising and the academic skills center, he said.

The Thompson building might be turned into an academic space. The philosophy department may move from E.J. Cain Hall to the Thompson building. The English department may extend its offices into the Thompson building.

The middle level of the basement may be removed and the space turned into rehearsal and studio spaces for the art department, Neil said.

Retrofitting the Getchell Library space will postpone the need for more expensive buildings, Ron Zurek, Vice President of Administration and Finance, said.

The renovations will cost about $58 per square foot, he said. A new building would cost between $400-$500 per square foot.

http://nevadasagebrush.com/blog/2008/09/23/getchell%e2%80%99s-fut
ure-up-to-legislature/

Campus housing to open University Inn as res hall next fall

Tuesday, February 26th, 2008

The University Inn will open as a residence hall for returning students for the upcoming fall semester, housing officials said.

Rod Aeschlimann, director of Residential Life, Housing and Food Service, said ResLife is planning for a June opening so summer conference groups can use the inn for housing.

The inn will house up to 297 students, Aeschlimann said.

A University Inn double room will cost as much as a double Canada Hall room at $5,090, Aeschlimann said. A single room in the University Inn will cost $5,990, $100 more than an Argenta double. A single or double premium room will cost $6,390.

The rooms will include a private bathroom for each unit.

A double room will range from 220 to 260 square feet. Single rooms will range from 150 to 200 square feet, and premium doubles will have 350 square feet and some will have two rooms. All the units will have extra large closets, Aeschlimann said.

The University Inn should accommodate students over winter break, he said, at a cost of $445.

“We hope to provide winter break housing for all resident halls,” Aeschlimann said.

The renovated inn will include Americans with Disabilities Act upgrades, a new lobby and a new key and building entry system. New emergency lighting, sprinkler system, fire alarms and a new corridor ventilation system will be included, making sure the inn meets fire code regulations. A new sprinkler system will be installed in the parking garage.

General improvements include new carpeting, interior painting, new furnishings and a laundry room located on the third floor. The laundry room will house 16 sets of washer and dryer units, facilities supervisor Bill Jacques said.

University Inn residents will access their rooms and enter the building using their WolfCards, he said.

Students will swipe their WolfCards to open their room doors and will use their cards to enter the building.

“We want to make the security that the residence halls provide available to as many students as possible,” Jacques said.

The University Inn will also feature community assistants and Canada Hall will switch to CAs at the beginning of the next semester, said Jerome Maese, associate director for ResLife.

“Community assistants are there to provide service and information for residents and resident assistants are there to provide the transition into the college environment,” he said.

RAs and CAs will both assist with the needs of the residents and provide a safe and secure environment, he said.

nevadasagebrush.com/blog/2008/02/26/campus-housing-to-open-university-inn-as-res-hall-next-fall/

The Guide: Living lessons

Tuesday, February 5th, 2008

During college years, students may be presented with an unfortunate dilemma: a horribly small dwelling or a large pad with roommates whom you may or may not get along with. The students who choose to have roommates may be asking for more than they can handle. Picking the right roommates means the difference between hell on earth and a nice place to live.

“When you find a good roommate, keep them,” said Jerome Maese, associate director for Residential Life.

Picking roommates:

• Look beyond friends and find people you can be compatible with, Maese said.
• Finding someone with similar habits and patterns works well, he said. Opposites also complement each other well.
• Finding someone who can pay his or her share of the bills is vital.
• If one rents a room, investigating the roommates provides a level of financial and physical security, he said. Pick a six-month lease until you know you and your roommates are compatible, he said.
• “You can put up with a lot of stuff for six months,” he said.
• Asking questions and being honest with the answers helps prove whether two people can live together, he said.

Questions to ask:

• 1. Finances: How much will each person pay? When? How will utilities be split? What can both parties afford?
• 2. Lifestyle compatibility: How much noise is acceptable? How much cleaning must be done? Partying or studying?
• 3. Boundaries: What kind of boundaries will there be in the roommate relationship?
• 4. Comfort level: Do both parties feel comfortable and safe with each other? Can both parties easily communicate?

Communicate:

“Setting up lines of communication is always better than setting up ground rules,” Maese said.

Set up a meeting at least once a month between roommates, he said. Ask if anything over the past month bugged your roommates in an open forum.

Universal rules:

• Buy your fair share of toilet paper.
• Don’t stink up the kitchen. Smelly cooking infiltrates each person’s room.
• “Cleanliness and using other people’s stuff without asking” form the basis of most arguments between roommates, Maese said.

http://nevadasagebrush.com/blog/2008/02/05/the-guide-living-lessons/

Stores to open by fall

Tuesday, January 29th, 2008

Union working on contracts for Asian-themed, Italian eateries

Kéva Juice and Starbucks will be joined by sandwich shop Port of Subs Tuesday, Chuck Price, the director of the Joe Crowley Student Union said.

“All the shops should be open by next fall,” Price said

Port of Subs opened two months after the grand opening of the union. Price said shops opening after the grand opening is a good thing.

“As traffic patterns develop, more places will open up,” he said.

Also opening by fall 2008:

First Floor:

• Wolf Package, opening late spring, will provide student mailboxes, printing and copying services and a cell phone store.
• Kaplan Test Preparation, which provides learning materials and test preparation, should be open by late spring, Price said.
• Silver State Schools Credit Union, opening after spring break, will provide an ATM in the credit union and a second ATM on the second floor. The union is still in negotiations with Wells Fargo and Bank of America to get ATMs from each respective company in the union, he said.
• The University of Nevada, Reno is negotiating with an unnamed optical store.

Second Floor:

• Tahoe Creamery, a high-end ice cream parlor, will open after spring break.
• The Board of Regents approved a plan for Baja Fresh to join the second floor food court slated for an opening next fall, Price said. Baja Fresh is a chain of pseudo-Mexican fast food eateries.
• The university plans to help the opening of an Asian-themed eatery and is currently in negotiations, he said. The Union will bring the plans for a pizzeria/Italian eatery to the Board of Regents in February. The eatery should open by fall, Price said.

Third Floor:

• A non-alcoholic sports grill, with 3,210 square feet should open by next fall, Price said. Current plans for the grill feature billiard tables and arcade machines. The university is in negations with three different companies, he said.

Price said he hopes the restaurant to be a location where “students under 21 can hang out in a sports grill atmosphere.”

http://nevadasagebrush.com/blog/2008/01/29/stores-to-open-by-fall/

Advantage Cash renamed, WolfBucks reign supreme

January 29th, 2008

Note: Never ran

Res Life renamed Advantage Cash allowing it to be used at all eateries in the Joe Crowley Student Union.

“We wanted to try to combine the two programs,” said Penny Leathley, manager of the Campus Card program.

Advantage cash turned into Food Bucks and can be used at any one of the eateries on campus. The Overlook, DC-Store, Downunder Café, the Northside Café (inside of the Fitzgerald Student Services Building,) Jot N Java (formerly Barista Brothers) and Las Trojes Mexican, in the Anazri Business Building still offer a five percent discount and no tax on purchases made with the new FoodBucks, WolfBucks, RolloverBucks and Bonus Bucks, according to a Res Life, Housing and Food Services poster.

Rollover bucks can only be accrued by resident hall students. Leftover swipes, part of the residence hall meal turn into “RolloverBucks.” Leftover swipes originally turned into Advantage Cash. Instead of turning into Advantage Cash, leftover swipes now turn into RolloverBucks. RolloverBucks cannot be used in the new student union and can only be used in the Overlook, DC Store/Café, Northside Café and Jolt N Java. WolfBucks, and the counterpart BonusBucks, can be used in all of the eateries on campus, the bookstore offering a no-tax discount, the libraries, parking services, Student health services and the Campus pharmacy.

The Guide: Going Grad

Tuesday, November 13th, 2007

Life after college can seem daunting to students, whether it’s working or lying around in their parents’ basement. For those who want to go to graduate school, whether it’s right after graduation or in a few years, here are some tips on getting prepared.

Step 1 – Get experience

Working in the field clues students into what the rest of their life after graduate school will look like, Patricia Wilson, professional and graduate school planning coordinator, said.

Professional schools, such as medical, dental and law school, require prior experience in the field of study, she said.

“Volunteer, intern, or work,” she said.

Investing time and money into a degree without seeing what life after a master’s degree is like is just silly, Wilson said.

“You should find a professor doing research you’re interested in,” Wilson said. “Ask him if he needs any extra help with research. The worst thing he can say is ‘No.’”

Programs usually require 18 credits in the desired field of study, said Mike Peters, graduate school coordinator.

Step 2 – Do the research

Researching the schools, the programs, the faculty, the applications and the tests is key, Wilson said.

“Figure out if the school is for you,” Peters said. “Talk to some grad students in the program.”

Students need to find a program just right for them, Peters said.

Almost all programs require the Graduate Record Examination, or GRE, Peters said.

“Figure out when you’re going to take the test,” Peters said. “And be prepared for it.”

According to the GRE Web site, the test costs $140 to take with results in 10-15 days.

Students can register and pay for the test online. The Sylvan Learning Center on West Moana Lane administers the test electronically.

Students need to figure out what each program is about and the research the faculty does in the area, Peters said.
Step 3 – Apply early

Sending in applications early means the difference between being accepted and being denied.

“By the time the application deadline rolls around, half the slots for incoming graduate students are taken,” Wilson said

Meet the criteria the school wants, she said.

“Graduate and professional schools are competitive,” Wilson said. “People seem to forget that.”

Students need to ask for letters of recommendation from faculty sooner instead of later.

“Professors go on sabbatical, retire or move before students can ask for letters of recommendation,” Peters said. “It’s hard to say how great a student was when you can’t remember them.”

Career development has a letters of recommendation service. The service compiles and sends out student’s letters of recommendation.

“It only costs $20 to send up to five letters out to 10 schools each,” Wilson said. The fee goes toward paying for the program.

Applications represent the only time students have complete control over their fate, Peters said.

“Make it polished and give the school a reason to accept you,” he said.

The application has to be perfect, Wilson said.
Step 4 - Get Funded

Prospective graduate students should apply for every type of funding available, Wilson said.

Most schools offer scholarships, teaching assistant and resident assistant positions, Peters said.

Students need to apply early enough to become a TA, Wilson said.

Upcoming Workshops

In room 200 of the Thompson Building, from noon to 1 p.m.

• Paying for professional and graduate school, Nov. 13
• Writing that personal statement, Nov. 14
• Getting letters of recommendation, Nov 20

http://nevadasagebrush.com/blog/2007/11/13/the-guide-going-grad/

Wolf Perk closes

Friday, November 2nd, 2007

The Wolf Perk in the Jot Travis Student Union sold its last cup of coffee Friday afternoon.

“Students can still get coffee at the Overlook,” said Chris vonGlahn, resident district manager for Chartwells Food Service. “It’s a different brand of coffee.”

VonGlahn said the Wolf Perk is looking to move into the Manzanita Room, beneath the Overlook.

He said if the new Wolf Perk location is approved, it could be open in time for next semester.

For now, students can get coffee at the Overlook, Starbucks in the Joe Crowley Student Union and Barista Brothers in Getchell Library.

http://nevadasagebrush.com/blog/2007/11/02/wolf-perk-closes/