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Discover Yourself... Discover Your World |
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Blue & Gold Newsletter Campus Calendar Faculty/Staff Directory Food Services The Insider Intercom Pitt-Greensburg's Online Radio Station |
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Welcome Back Staff Leaders Leigh Hoffman Gayle Pamerleau Patty LaMantia Lou Ann Sears Beth Tiedemann Jana Valentine 45th Anniversary Add/Drop Courses Cat Cash |
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Wendy Mackall Director, Media Relations 724-836-7741 mackall@pitt.edu Karen Gavula Coordinator, Families Newsletter 724-836-7497 upgkg@pitt.edu |
Dear Family and Friends:
The 2009 academic year is nearly here and it is going to be a very exciting year for all of us. Throughout this year we will be celebrating the 45th anniversary of the founding of the school. In a variety of special programs we will be reflecting on the events and advances that have occurred in those years and considering the changes our students may face in the years ahead. The programs and services we provide our students and the new options we will be introducing are all designed to equip students to take on those challenges. In these newsletters we will introduce you to the key offerings we have in place and preview new options as they are developed. This is the time for our talented and enthusiastic students to discover themselves and their world. It is our privilege to guide them on that journey.
Sincerely,
Sharon P.Smith
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Leigh Hoffman is the Assistant Dean of Student Services and Director of Orientation/Judicial Coordinator here at Pitt-Greensburg. She also teaches Freshman Seminar. Leigh has worked at Pitt-Greensburg for 5 years and in 2007 was the recipient of the President’s Distinguished Service Award for Staff. She has worked professionally in higher education for over 14 years. Leigh holds a Bachelor’s degree from Juniata College and a Master’s degree from the University of Scranton. Originally from eastern Pennsylvania, she now lives in Level Green with her husband and two children. |
Although the first phase of orientation has passed (SOAR), there is a second phase to help acclimate your student to the Pitt-Greensburg campus. The second phase -- Welcome Week!
Welcome Week activities are mandatory for all incoming first-year students. The dates of these activities, as well as a tentative schedules are listed below. Welcome Week activities are designed to give students an opportunity to get to know fellow students, as well as to interact with faculty, staff, and presenters in a variety of ways. Students must sign up for the day trips scheduled for Saturday, August 23rd! Please call me at (724) 836-9954 or email me at leigh7@pitt.edu to let me know which trip you want -- admission will be given away on a first-come, first-served basis and space is limited for each choice!
Please notice a $50.00 orientation fee on the tuition bill for the Welcome Week activities; this fee helps pay for all of the programs students will be attending. Please be sure to get your money's worth. Encourage your student to attend all of the Welcome Week activities.
One program I would like to highlight is First-Year Student Convocation. At this ceremony, first-year students will be officially welcomed into the Pitt-Greensburg community by our campus President, Dr. Sharon Smith, faculty, staff and upperclassmen. Invitations are being mailed to home addresses. It is my hope that family members will be able to join us for the ceremony and for a reception immediately following. Due to space constraints, I ask that no more than two (2) guests per student attend, in order to allow for every student to have family members present. Dress for Convocation is casual, but students must RSVP to attend!
New resident students will move in on Thursday, August 21, 2008 between 9:00am and 3:00pm. Questions regarding move-in should be directed to Ms. Kendra Sims, Director of Housing and Residence Life, at (724) 836-7470.
New commuter students should report to the large tent on the lawn outside Chambers Hall (park in the Smith Hall lot) between 2:00pm and 4:00pm on Thursday, August 21, 2008 to check-in for Welcome Week activities. At this time, students will pick up a schedule of events, a student handbook, student ID, and some other required materials, and will then join the Commuter Mentors and other commuter students in enjoying some fun activities.
Please feel free to contact me at (724) 836-9954 or leigh7@pitt.edu should you have any questions about Welcome Week activities. I look forward to seeing you soon!
Welcome Week 2008 Schedule of Events
Thursday, August 21, 2008
9 a.m. - 3 p.m. New RESIDENT students move in, Smith Hall Parking Lot
11:15 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Lunch (resident students), Dining Hall (Chambers Hall)
2 p.m. - 4 p.m. New COMMUTER students check-in, Smith Hall Parking Lot
2 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Interactive Novelties,
Chambers Hall Lawn (rain site: Fireside Lounge, Chambers
Hall)
3 p.m. Work Study Orientation, Ferguson Theater (Smith Hall)
4 p.m. Commuter Students meet Mentors, Ferguson Theater (Smith Hall)
4:30 p.m. - 6 p.m. Dinner (residents and commuters), Dining Hall (Chambers Hall)
6:15 p.m. All Students line up near the clock in front of Chambers Hall (rainsite: Chambers Hall, 2nd floor hallway) - Peer Leaders will be there to help; Guests should be seated in the gymnasium.
6:30 p.m. First-Year Student Convocation, Gymnasium (Chambers Hall)
-- Reception immediately following
Friday, August 22, 2008
(Every student attending the presentations will have chances to win $100 bookstore gift certificates!)
7:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Breakfast (resident students), Dining Hall (Chambers Hall)
10:00 a.m. “The Ultimate Road Trip”, Ferguson Theater (Smith Hall)
11:00 a.m. “Ultimate Money Skills”, Ferguson Theater (Smith Hall)
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. Lunch (residents and commuters), Dining Hall (Chambers Hall)
1:30 p.m. “Orientation 101: Beyond the Books”, Ferguson Theater (Smith Hall)
3:30 p.m. MANDATORY meeting for day trips, Ferguson Theater (Smith Hall)
4:30 p.m. - 6 p.m. Dinner (resident students), Dining Hall (Chambers Hall)
10 p.m. Welcome Dance & Social – The Coffeehouse (Village Hall)
Saturday, August 23, 2008 -- DAY TRIPS! - all trip participants should meet their groups at the clock outside of Chambers Hall (rain site: Fireside Lounge)!
10:30 a.m. leave for Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium
11:00 a.m. leave for Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival
11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. Brunch (resident students), Dining Hall (Chambers Hall)
12:30 p.m. leave for Carnegie Science Center/SportsWorks & Titanic exhibit
1:00 p.m. leave for Kennywood Amusement Park
4 p.m. - 6 p.m. Dinner (resident students), Dining Hall (Chambers Hall)
8 p.m. Movie TBA, Ferguson Theater (Smith Hall)
Sunday, August 24, 2008
10:00 a.m. Mandatory Orientation for International Students, Village Hall
11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. Brunch (resident students), Dining Hall (Chambers Hall)
6 p.m. “The Big Bang!”, Alumni Pavilion area (rain site: Chambers Hall) – Have a BBQ dinner, listen to 4 different bands, play inflatable games, & join in the fun! Meet other students & faculty/staff members as we kick off the academic year…
Dusk (8:30ish) Fireworks!!! (watching from behind the library is a GREAT spot!)
As you read this you are preparing to send your student to college for the first time or after a summer at home. This can be a stressful time for students and family members alike. As you all adjust to the start of a new academic year, please remember that the Counseling Center is available to help answer any questions you may have about your student’s healthy adjustment to college.
The Counseling Center provides students a safe place to talk with an objective, caring professional who can offer fresh ways to interpret issues. Counseling gives students a chance to explore their feelings and learn new coping skills. Services offered at the Counseling Center include individual personal counseling, psycho-educational groups, referrals for off-campus services, and consultations with concerned family members. Reasons students come to counseling include relationship problems, stress, anxiety, depression, grief, and eating problems. Unexplained changes in behavior, mood swings, changes in appetite and sleep patterns, and difficulty concentrating are all indicators of a problem that counseling can help resolve – one that could affect academic performance if not addressed. All Counseling Center services are free and completely confidential. This year, Jennifer Palmer will be the graduate intern in the Counseling Center 2 days per week.
The Counseling Center is located in 217 Chambers Hall, next to the Health Center, upstairs near the Office of Student Services. Students and concerned family members are welcome to stop in, call at 724-836-9870, or e-mail at gaylep@pitt.edu.
Patty LaMantia
RN, BC, MNEd.
Director
Student Health Center
I have been the Director of the Student Health Center at Pitt-Greensburg since 1996. My experience is extensive from pediatrics to coronary care. The "BC" following my name means that I have board certification in college health from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. I received my initial nurses training from Shadyside Hospital School of Nursing, Bachelors from Carlow University and Masters from Pitt.
The health center is located above the bookstore in Chambers Hall. Most students find me without difficulty. The hours of operation are 8:30 to 4:30 Monday through Friday. During those hours I am available for each of the students and have the ability to provide the care allowable within my scope of practice. Our campus doctor is Dr. John Aber whom I consult with daily. He is on campus Thursday mornings for clinic. The self care center, which is located in the waiting area, is open the same hours as Chambers Hall. The self care center is stocked daily with Advil, Tylenol, Aleve, bandaids, neosporin, etc. We also do allergy shots when the doctor is in, flu shot clinics, and assist students in a variety of health care needs.
I am available via email at pll@pitt.edu, or phone at 724-836-9947 during the hours referred to above.
Sincerely,
Patricia LaMantia RN, BC, MNEd.
Lou Ann Sears, Ph.D.
Director of Learning Resources Center
The Learning Resources Center
Pitt Greensburg has a Learning Resources Center in the Faculty Office Building. The Center is open Monday through Friday when its director, Dr. Lou Ann Sears, is on campus: end of August through the end of June each year. The Center is the home of disability services, tutoring, study skills, and writing center.
Dr. Sears is also an Assistant Professor of English. She teaches College Composition I, II, and II; and Literature for Adolescents. This year marks her 25th anniversary as a teacher of English and her 11th year as the director of the Center.
Students interested in requesting a tutor for a particular subject should stop by the Center to pick up an application. If Dr. Sears is not in, students should slide the applications under her door (FOB 105), and she will e-mail them with information. While tutoring is not available for ALL subjects, it is available for many subjects. Some popular subjects include chemistry, math, biology, composition, and accounting. The tutors are faculty recommended and paid Pitt Greensburg students who are trained to assist other Pitt Greensburg students. Anyone interested in trying to become a tutor should stop by for an application. Each semester, the Center has approximately 25 to 30 tutors.
Requesting a tutor early in the term is wise. Having a tutor is an excellent way to learn material since there is someone with whom the student can gain valuable helpful hints and talk about the subject matter. According to the Learning Research and Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh, people can learn %70 of any given subject just by talking about it with others. If students wait until much of the term has gone by, it’s possible that the tutors will already be “booked.” Tutoring is not a substitute for class attendance.
Visiting the “drop-in tutors” of composition is also wise. During certain hours of the week, these faculty-recommended paid tutors are stationed at a table in the hallway near the Learning Center. These hours are posted on pink sheets available at the Center. Students do not need to be in a composition course to use the drop-in service. Papers for any subject are welcome. When a student visits a drop-in, he or she should be sure to give his or her name and professor name to the tutor so that the professor can be notified. Professors often appreciate the fact that students go to extra lengths to do well. Of course, the Center will honor a student’s request to be anonymous as well.
Students interested in assistance with study skills can see Dr. Sears for one-on-one appointments. In addition, a variety of handouts and two study-skills software programs are available. Dr. Sears also visits Freshman Seminar classes to cover study-skills related information.
Students interested in disability services will need to provide documentation that meets University of Pittsburgh guidelines. These guideline sheets are available on the Pitt Greensburg website. For more information, interested parties can call Dr. Sears at 724-836-7098 (voice) or 724-836-7128 (TTY) (telephone for the deaf), e-mail her at los3@pitt.edu, or stop by her office (Faculty Office Building 105).
All services are free and confidential.
Beth Tiedemann
Director, Career Services
Greetings from Career Services! This is an exciting time for our office. We are looking forward to year packed with all sorts of career-related events designed to help students prepare to reach their goals. With the addition of the newly created Assistant Director position, we’re also looking forward to having the ability to take the services and programs we offer to students to the next level.
The Office of Career Services assists students with every aspect of the career planning process. During their time at Pitt-Greensburg, students visit with a career counselor to take a career assessment, identify majors and careers that match their preferences, research occupations, locate internships, explore and prepare for graduate school, develop job hunting and work related skills, write and revise resumes and cover letters, and gain meaningful employment.
In addition to individual career consulting, Career Services offers a variety of career-related events throughout the year including the Graduate and Professional School Fair, Careers & Coffee Series, Career Seminar of the “UPG Edge”, Majors Fair, and Speed Interviewing. Pitt-Greensburg students have free access to two web-based job posting systems, UPGJobNet (Greensburg campus) and FutureLinks (Oakland campus) as well as the career library located in 217 Chambers Hall, which contains materials on job searching, resumes, career exploration, graduate school, and much more.
Students are encouraged to contact Career Services early in the academic career. The office is open Monday-Friday 8:30.a.m. to 5:00.p.m. and evening hours by appointment. For more information or to schedule an appointment, students should call 724-836-7869 or send an email to upgcrsrv@pitt.edu.
| Jana Valentine has been the Pitt-Greensburg Director of Campus Activities and Village Advisor for two years. Jana graduated from Pitt-Greensburg with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication in 2001. In 2003, she received her Master’s Degree in Student Affairs in Higher Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Before returning to Pitt-Greensburg, Jana worked in the Office of Residence Life at the University of Pittsburgh Oakland campus. Jana said, "I love Pitt-Greensburg because of the friendly campus community, and I am very happy to have the pleasure of working here." In her free hours, she loves spending time with her husband, Dave, their cat, Oreo, and their collie, Louie. |
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Dear Parents:
In August, your students will begin a new and exciting journey as they enter college. As the Director of Campus Activities and Village Advisor as well as a former Pitt-Greensburg graduate, my job is to ensure that your student enjoys his or her time here at Pitt-Greensburg.
We have a lot to offer outside of the classroom and getting involved on campus is a great way for your student to meet new people and have fun. First, there are over fifty student organizations that your student can join. These groups vary from academic clubs, to honor societies, to special interests groups. Membership in all of these groups is open to Pitt-Greensburg students. Additionally, we have the Emerging Leaders Development Series for students who are interested in enhancing and improving their leadership skills. Furthermore, your student can join the Academic Villages which are learning communities with specific majors and interests. The Academic Villages are open to both resident and commuter students. Another way that your student can get involved is by participating in recreational sports. We offer an extensive intramural program that is open to all students. The program will begin in September with flag football and continue throughout the year with various sports.
Hopefully, you will encourage your student to take advantage of all that Pitt-Greensburg has to offer. If you have any questions or would like more information on how to help get your student connected to the Pitt-Greensburg community, please feel free to contact me. I can be reach by email at jlg51@pitt.edu or by phone at 724-836-9991.
Activities Fair
Getting involved in college can make or break your student’s experience. Joining a student organization will not only help students meet others on campus with similar interests, but improve their ability to succeed academically and feel a connection to the campus community. If a student is involved he or she will spend more time on campus and have more opportunities to interact with faculty, staff, and students. Accordingly, students who do not get involved spend less time on campus and may not have regular contact with the campus community. Joining a student organization is a great way for students to feel connected to the campus and meet other students.
On Wednesday, September 3rd from 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., Student Services will be sponsoring the annual Activities Fair on the Chambers lawn. The Activities Fair gives all of Pitt-Greensburg’s fifty student organizations a chance to display their groups and recruit new members. Representatives from each student organization will be available to answer questions and tell students how to join their organizations. This is a great opportunity for students to see which student organization they are interested in joining. Additionally, many campus departments will be on hand at the Activities Fair to showcase the various services that are available for students at Pitt-Greensburg. All students are encouraged to attend. There will be food, games, and prizes!
| Please join us in celebrating our 45th Anniversary. All events with an asterisk are open to the public. | |
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August 21-24
Welcome Week 21 Freshmen Convocation 24 Upper classmen join Freshmen on campus Noon: Welcome Back Picnic Dusk: Big Bang! Fireworks* 25 First day of Fall semester September Pitt-Greensburg at play: Follow all the action as cross country, golf, soccer, and volleyball swing into action. For rosters, schedules and scores, visit www.upg.pitt.edu/athletics. 16 La Cultura Lecture Series* First lecture in series Dr. Frank Wilson, Asst. Professor of Sociology and Administration of Justice “The Cold War and It’s Hot Consequences” 7 p.m. The Mary Lou Campana Chapel & Lecture Center |
September 20
Walk for the Cure* Walk to cure Diabetes 10 a.m. To register for this two-mile walk on campus, call 412-471-1414, Ext. 13 21 Alumni & Friends Tailgating party with live broadcast of 4:15 p.m. Steelers at Eagles game. 24 Composer, lyricist and music producer Thomas Tierney presents “The Art of Business Theater”* 7 p.m. Ferguson Theater 27 Pitt-Greensburg Golf Outing 2008* At Cherry Creek Golf Club 10 a.m. shotgun start Benefits Pitt-Greensburg |
FOR FULL-TIME STUDENTS:
TO ADD/DROP A COURSE: Your student must see his/her advisor to sign the
enrollment form; Take the form to the registrar's office to complete the
add/drop process.
FOR PART-TIME STUDENTS:
TO ADD/DROP A COURSE: Go to the registrar's office to complete the
enrollment form.
