- UNC Campus Commons Receives Gold Rating for Building Performance
UNC’s Campus Commons was awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Buildings Council in early August. The building uses less water and energy than a conventional building, maximizes daylight and prioritizes recycled content.
“In addition to being a requirement for building projects that receive state funding, LEED is the right thing to do,” said Kirk Leichliter, assistant vice president of Facilities Management. “LEED buildings are environmentally friendly, much more efficient in terms of energy and water savings, and cost less to operate over the life of the building.”
- UNC, McKinstry Install Solar Array on Campus
A new solar photovoltaic (PV) array was installed by McKinstry, a national construction and energy services company, on the roof of Parsons Hall. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment funded the array through its Supplemental Environmental Projects program.
The 172-kW solar PV array is expected to produce 4.7 million kilowatt hours of electricity and save the university an estimated $176,500 over the expected life of the system. That amount of energy is enough to power more than 425 U.S. homes for an entire year. McKinstry is also delivering an interactive dashboard later this fall to track solar PV array performance metrics, which can be used in classrooms.
- UNC Hosts International Educators
UNC hosted a group of 21 international secondary teachers from 20 countries participating in the Fulbright Teacher Excellence and Achievement Exchange Program (Fulbright TEA). This is the first year UNC has received funding for the Fulbright TEA, which includes participants from Argentina, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Burma, Colombia, Ghana, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mongolia and Mozambique.
“Implementing the Fulbright TEA program benefits the international teachers, our UNC teacher candidates and our secondary students in District 6, as well,” said Madeline Milian, Ed.D., a professor in the UNC School of Teacher Education. “The international teachers are learning to teach using more student-centered methodologies, increasing their knowledge of technology, and working with students who may encounter learning difficulties.”
- Observable Beehive Installed in Ross Hall
An observable, glass-encased beehive was installed in Ross Hall. Teresa Higgins, Ph.D., a professor in the UNC School of Biological Sciences, and Elementary Teacher Education students Ness Medina and Mollie Brandt, spent the past year preparing for the beehive and taking beekeeping classes through the Northern Colorado Beekeepers Association.
The beehive will be used to study beehive behavior in classes such as BIO 111. The public can visit the beehive any time the building is open (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday).
- English Faculty Member to Serve on National Committee
Tara Wood, Ph.D., was elected to serve a three-year term on the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) Executive Committee, a flagship national body.
“Being elected to the CCCC Executive Committee is a tremendous honor, and I am eager to contribute to the mission of the organization,” said Wood, an assistant professor of English who directs the UNC Writing Program. “I hope to advocate for students and to help develop inclusive, research-based best practices in the discipline of Rhetoric and Composition and beyond.”
- Staff Member Awarded Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program Award
Renée Welch, director of UNC’s Center for Career Readiness, received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award and participated in an International Education Administrators Seminar in Germany in October.
Welch is one of over 800 U.S. citizens who will teach, conduct research and/or provide expertise abroad for the 2019-20 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program.
“I’m excited and very grateful for this opportunity,” Welch said. “I hope to learn how the German higher education system prepares students for the workforce.”
- Unique UNC Artifacts Found on eBay
Faculty and staff in the University Libraries routinely search on eBay for rare UNC items to add to the archives of historical UNC artifacts. The goal of collecting these items is to tell the story of UNC as broadly as possible.
Jay Trask, head of Archives and Special Collections, said he and his team look for “unique and unusual items that we can’t get anywhere else.” Current items in the UNC archives include a small dish souvenir, a film reel of James Michener’s 90-minute television show, and the original screenplay of James Michener’s book The Jungle.
