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Former chair of the University of Utah Board of Trustees Clark Ivory established the U’s most prestigious student award, the Ivory Prize for Excellence in Student Leadership, in 2014. Nominations are now being accepted for the 2016 award.

In an effort to enhance the undergraduate experience and encourage student involvement and leadership, the prize recognizes one to two students for demonstrating a positive influence on student success and/or fostering efforts that have enabled meaningful change. It includes a $2,000 prize for the students along with a $10,000 donation to their cause.

Nominations are due by Feb. 26 and should include a completed nomination form, a nomination letter up to two pages in length and up to two letters of support. Awardees can be currently enrolled undergraduate or graduate students or those who have graduated within the past five years.

The Office for Global Engagement (OGE) is offering grants of up to $10,000 for departmental/college or interdisciplinary teams composed of a minimum of three faculty members to improve global learning as part of the Global Learning Across the Disciplines (GLAD) initiative at the University of Utah.

See past award winners here and click here for more information.

This six-week course is based on the Mindful Schools curriculum and teaches core mindfulness skills to stressed teens. Group leaders are school psychologists as well as certified yoga instructors and have completed mindfulness trainings including the Mindful Schools curriculum course.

The course is part of a research study sponsored by the University of Utah.

Please contact Emily at emily.haygeman@hsc.utah.edu or 760-420-6878 to sign up for the course. If you are a professor or mental health professional, please note this course is appropriate for teens in middle or high school who are dealing with stress.

Over the next three years, UIT Unified Communications (UC) will be migrating from the legacy Centrex telephone system to the new Unified Communications Voice over IP (VOIP) system, also known as Skype for Business/Lync.

Skype for Business/Lync provides new features, such as integration with calendar, web conferencing and instant messaging. University Information Technology’s goal is to migrate 5,000 Centrex users to Skype for Business/Lync before the end of fiscal year (June 30, 2016), followed by 5,000 each for the next two fiscal years.

Discover. Learn. Grow.

Red Butte Garden offers over 50 week-long summer camps from June through early August for kids entering Kindergarten through 6th Grade. Each camp is designed to spark your child’s curiosity for plants and the natural world through STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math).

Partners include NHMU, Tanner Dance, Wasatch Community Gardens, Utah’s Hogle Zoo, and more!

Registration opens at 10 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 29.

Click here for camp dates and to register.

Yurt skiing might be the most fun thing on earth. Nothing is better than a weekend spent sitting around a warm wood stove at night with a cup of hot chocolate in your hands while the skies cover the steep, empty slopes around you with enough snow to fill in the previous day’s ski tracks.

Join us on one of these awesome Yurt adventures!  Call 801.581.8516 to register today.

MANDATORY PRE-TRIP MEETING:  Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016 at 7 p.m. @ Outdoor Adventures

Cost varies by trip. Click here for trip details.

The Crimson Club Athletic Fund (CCAF) kicked off its annual `U Be Counted’ membership drive today with the goal of raising awareness and needed funds to enhance Utah’s student-athletes experience.

The CCAF is trying to reach every fan that has a passion for Utah Athletics. If you want to support Utah student-athletes or increase your financial pledge, know that any donation is providing the needed resources to be competitive in the Pac-12 and nationally. The funds raised in the U Be Counted campaign is critical in providing the operating budgets within athletic department.

“The cornerstone of the campaign is to demonstrate the many ways in which people can help support Utah’s student-athletes,” Associate Athletics Director for External Relations Ann Argust said. “The `U Be Counted’ membership drive will raise awareness of where Athletics needs addition funds – from tuition, housing, travel, recruiting, uniforms, medical care and the new full cost of attendance, just to name a few. Any donation helps our student-athletes and department grow and become more successful.”

Click here to donate.

When you give to the Crimson Club Athletic Fund, you are directly helping provide the ultimate experience for over 400 student-athletes. There are a variety of ways to give to the Crimson Club Athletic Fund. If you have any additional questions, email crimsonclub@huntsman.utah.edu or contact your account representative at 801-585-UTES.

The Office for Equity and Diversity is now accepting nominations from University of Utah faculty, staff and students for the annual Equity and Diversity Awards. The awards are presented on the basis of excellence, leadership and commitment to enhance equity and diversity at the University of Utah. The award also seeks to recognize those who demonstrate commitment to creating and expanding opportunities for students, staff and/or faculty of historically underrepresented backgrounds to succeed at the University of Utah. One award will be given in each of three categories:

• Sustained contributions by University units, faculty or staff over many years
• Contributions in the last year by University units, faculty or staff
• Contributions by students

Nomination process:

• Nominations must include the nomination form.
• Nominations must include at least two letters of support describing how the nominee has fostered leadership and commitment to enhance equity and diversity and expanded opportunities for students, staff and/or faculty. Self-nominations are welcome, but must come with letters of support from two other sources.
• The deadline for award nomination letters is Friday, March 4, 2016.
• Submit nominations by to oed-events@utah.edu.

The recognition luncheon will be held on Tuesday, April 19, 2016, from 12-1:30 p.m. in the Varsity Room at the Tower at Rice-Eccles Stadium (level six). Recipients must be present to accept the award.

See previous award recipients at diversity.utah.edu/awards-events.

The time has come to submit textbook adoptions for summer 2016 and fall 2016 semesters. The Campus Store can help save students up to 60 percent off textbooks compared to new book pricing.  In order to do this, it is important that the Campus Store know which course materials are needed for each class in the upcoming semesters. If you are a faculty member who has not yet requested their course materials for the summer 2016 and fall 2016 semesters, please do so by the dates below:

Fall 2016: March 1, 2016

To research your estimated cost, visit facultycenter.net. For a cost estimate on custom printed course packets, contact Steve Beck in Print & Mail Services at steve.beck@utah.edu or 801-581-5779.

Submit textbook adoptions at Campus Store’s textbook adoption page.  For questions contact a department textbook buyer:

Dave Nelson               dnelson@campusstore.utah.edu                 801-581-8321

Rand Merritt              rmerritt@campusstore.utah.edu                801-581-3158

Heidi Booth                hbooth@campusstore.utah.edu                  801-581-3536

University Campus Store 801-581-6326.

Join us in March for bagels and coffee for our new Learning Abroad Academic Advisor Workshop.

Learning Abroad is excited to announce a spring workshop held specifically for academic advisors. Our aim is to strengthen the connection between your students and the global initiatives of Learning Abroad.

Join us over bagels and coffee as we cover general information about learning abroad, the application process for students, the benefits of learning abroad for all students and how advisors can get involved. We will provide resources to help answer any questions you and your students may have about Learning Abroad.

Details are as follows:
What: Learning Abroad Academic Advisor Workshop
When: March 15, 2016 from 8-10:30 a.m.
Where: Union Den

Space is limited, so please RSVP to Learning Abroad by March 1, 2016. We look forward to seeing you there.

The Office for Global Engagement (OGE) has established this award to recognize faculty and staff contributions to the university’s global dimension and those who have demonstrated excellence in facilitating student global learning and intercultural understanding. This may include international partnership development that engages students, curriculum revision to include global learning outcomes, advancement of the learning of languages and other initiatives that provide significant opportunities for global learning either on campus or abroad. It may also include providing exceptional support or mentoring to international students and students participating in learning abroad programs. One faculty member and one staff member will be awarded (two awards). This is an annual award for which OGE seeks nominations each spring semester. The award selection and ceremony is held in early April each year.

Click here for more information.

Awards are made to faculty to undertake projects that will enhance their teaching or the curriculum in which they teach. Tenure-line and Career-line faculty are eligible to propose individual and group grants. Preference will be given to applicants whose primary professional affiliation is as faculty at the University of Utah.

Awards are made for amounts up to $3,500 for individuals and $7,000 for groups for items such as equipment, supplies or travel where appropriate (see website for detailed instructions).

The deadline for applications is now March 11.