UVI Alumni Have Just Days to Make Giving History; Deadline is Sept. 30 In a last major push to reach a historic 50 percent alumni giving rate, the University of the Virgin is reaching out to all its alumni to make a gift by Sept. 30. UVI President Dr. David Hall challenged alumni to raise the alumni giving rate to 50 percent, in honor of UVI’s 50th anniversary, through what was named the 50 for 50 Campaign. If that goal is reached, UVI will be the first Historically Black College and University (HBCU) to hold that distinction.
Because of good alumni response to initiatives held throughout the year, UVI is now at a 40 percent alumni giving rate and has less than a week left to meet the 50 percent goal. A total of 601 additional alumni must make a donation for the goal to be met. Annual Giving and Alumni Affairs Director Linda I. Smith said she is optimistic. More information is available from a news release on the UVI homepage – http://www.uvi.edu – and from this direct link.
The College Access Challenge Grant to Host Scholarship Workshop at UVI on Sept. 29 UVI’s College Access Challenge Grant will sponsor a scholarship workshop for the public by noted lecturer and author Marianne Ragins on Saturday, Sept. 29. The workshops are open to all high school students and their families who are seeking assistance in searching for and preparing applications for scholarships. Sessions will be held on UVI’s campuses on St. Thomas and St. Croix. Three-hour scholarship workshop sessions are slated from 9 a.m. to noon in the Great Hall on UVI’s Albert A. Sheen Campus on St. Croix. Another session will run from 4-7 p.m. in the Administration and Conference Center on the St. Thomas campus.
Ragins is the founder and president of The Scholarship Workshop and sponsor of the Ragins/Braswell National Scholarship. Her work in the field has helped many students secure thousands of dollars in scholarship support. The workshops on Saturday will include resources for uncovering scholarship opportunities, guidelines for writing winning personal essays, tips on using the Internet to find scholarship sources, tips on how to get the best recommendations, coaching on how individuals can sell themselves during scholarship interviews and strategies for getting funds for college. For more information contact Denise Lake at 692-4101.
UVI Soccer Squad Falls to UPR-Bayamon; Home Matchup with UPR-Carolina Set Saturday, Sept. 29 UVI’s Men’s Soccer team dropped its home matchup with UPR-Bayamon, 3-2, on Wednesday, Sept. 26. The Bucs will take on UPR-Carolina in their final home game of the first part of the 2012 season at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 29, at the Paul E. Joseph Stadium in Frederiksted. The squad is now 1-4-1 on the season. A news series of matches with schools in the LAI league’s western section begins Oct. 6.
Remaining league schedule:
• Sept. 29 – 2 p.m. – UPR-Carolina at UVI – St. Croix (Joseph Stadium, Frederiksted)
• Oct. 6, 13, 20, 27 – Crossover Divisional Matches (matchups will be based on September records)
• Nov. 3 – Playoffs Start
DRI, UVI to Host Forum on Homelessness in St. Thomas; Public and Volunteers Invited The public is invited to attend a forum titled "Supporting Homeless Providers to Build Capacity" sponsored by St. Thomas’ Downtown Revitalization Inc. (DRI) in partnership with the University of the Virgin Islands. The forum takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 27, at the Administration and Conference Center on UVI’s St. Thomas campus. The forum is a grassroots effort to facilitate support of St. Thomas’s homeless providers.
Participants will express ideas, join resources, share recognition and otherwise redouble their commitment to St. Thomas’ homeless population – a critical element in the effort to revitalize the downtown area. DRI’s goal is to encourage homeless service providers as they assist the most vulnerable, long-term homeless individuals and families to attain permanent, supportive housing.
Presentations are planned by DRI, the Department of Human Services, the United Way of St. Thomas-St. John, Catholic Charities, COAST and the Salvation Army. Persons interested in volunteering their support are encouraged to attend. For details, contact Cheryl E. Thompson at 642-9119 or send e-mail to cetbusiness@gmail.com.
Public Asked to Mark their Calendars for UVI’s ‘Golden Gala’ Fundraisers The final public event of UVI’s 50th Anniversary Golden Jubilee celebrations will be Golden Gala fundraisers on St. Thomas and St. Croix. The entire community is invited to celebrate with UVI at the black-tie events. On St. Thomas the Golden Gala will be held at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 1 at Marriott Frenchman’s Reef and Morning Star Resort. On St. Croix the Golden Gala will be held at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 8, at the Divi Carina Bay Beach Resort and Casino. The public is invited to mark their calendars for “A Grand Affair to End the Year.” Ticket prices and locations will be announced shortly. For more information, contact Liza Margolis at 693-1053 or lmargol@live.uvi.edu.
‘Women Empower’ Candidates’ Forum Set Oct. 4 at UVI on St. Croix
The University of the Virgin Islands Albert A. Sheen Campus Kappa Gamma student organization will host a “Women Empower” forum at UVI’s Great Hall, at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 4. The forum is for all women in political office and female candidates seeking public office. The purpose of the forum is to provide an opportunity for the University community, human service advocates, community service organizations and the community as a whole to meet the women candidates and express concerns on issues that affect women. Included will be discussions on women’s health, energy, crime, education, women’s participation in politics and other legislative subject matter. This forum will provide the candidates an opportunity to express their positions on funding, priorities and solutions to these critical and pressing issues. For more information call 277-6379 or e-mail sphilli1@live.uvi.edu.
UVI-RTPark Offering Used Ford Freestyle for Bid; Submission Deadline Oct. 5 The UVI RTPark will be accepting sealed bids for a one-owner, 2005 Ford Freestyle vehicle. Bid documents may be obtained from the RTPark or requested via email (mmiller@uvirtpark.com) between the hours of 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Oct. 1 to 5.
The vehicle will be sold as-is (no warranty), and is located at the RTPark offices on the St. Croix campus, at the dorm complex (the first completed building) on the right side of the Royal Palm entrance drive. Only sealed bids will be accepted, and must be delivered to the RTPark office no later than 3 p.m., Friday, Oct. 5.
The unsealing of the bids will occur the week of Oct. 8. Within three business days after the unsealing, the successful highest bidder will be notified by telephone and/or mail. Payment must be made within three business days of notification. For more information on the vehicle or the bid process, please contact Melissa Miller at 692-4200.
VIUCEDD to Host 9th Voices That Count Policy Forum Oct. 11-12 The Virgin Islands University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (VIUCEDD) will host the 9th annual Voices That Count policy forum entitled “An Inclusive Workforce is a Strong Workforce.” During the forum, people with disabilities and their families, along with concerned community members will have an opportunity to solicit the views of those seeking to represent the Virgin Islands in the U.S. Congress and the territorial legislature.
This event will be held on St. Thomas on Oct 11 and 12, at UVI’s Administration and Conference Center on the St. Thomas campus. On St. Croix, the forum will take place on Oct. 15 and 16, in the Great Hall on UVI’s Albert A. Sheen Campus. Both activities will run from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. There is no fee for the event, but space is limited and registration is required. Register online at: http://vtc.viucedd.org or contact Sandra Pierre-Louis on St. Croix at 692-4266 and on St. Thomas contact Jerae Forde at 776-9200 ext. 2334. Special accommodations, such as sign language interpreters, need to be requested in advance.
World Food Day Set for Oct. 14 on UVI’s Albert A. Sheen Campus on St. Croix October on St. Croix means it’s time for World Food Day at UVI. This year’s event is slated for noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 14, on the grounds of the Albert A. Sheen Campus. The theme is “Agricultural Cooperatives: Key to Feeding the World.” As always, World Food Day will include a food vendors’ court, a farmer’s market, workshops, field tours, seedling distribution, a petting zoo for children, music and a variety of competitions.
Top on the competitions list is the fifth annual Youth Super Chef Competition. There will also be a Banana Splash Competition for the general public. Workshops will focus on the banana family, cassava and chicken. Workshop participants will receive free samples of dishes featuring these crops.
This year’s entertainment will feature the Rising Stars Youth Steel Orchestra, DJ Porter and performances by the St. Croix Martial Arts and the Ay Ay Cultural Dance Company. There is no entry fee. Everyone attending is asked to bring a non-perishable food item for the day’s food drive.
The St. Croix event is part of a worldwide activity observed each October designed to increase awareness and understanding of hunger issues, while provoking year-around action to alleviate hunger. It is sponsored by UVI’s Cooperative Extension Service and Agricultural Experiment Station, and the V.I. Department of Agriculture. For more information, call Clarice Clarke at 692-4060.
29th St. Thomas-St. John Ag Fair Set Nov. 3-4; Booklet Articles and Ads Needed by Oct. 19 The 29th Annual St. Thomas-St. John Agriculture and Food Fair is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Nov. 3-4, on the grounds of UVI’s Reichhold Center for the Arts. Vendor applications can be obtained from the V.I. Department of Agriculture offices on St. Thomas and St. Croix, UVI’s Cooperative Extension Service, Sea Chest and the Natural Livity Kulcha Shop. The deadline for submitting AgFair Booklet articles and advertising copy is Oct. 19.
The fair committee is seeking participants and judges for the best tasting sweet bread, maubi and Ital contests. Call 693-1080 for details on how to register as either a participant or a judge. A new coal pot lighting contest is planned this year. Interested persons are encouraged to enter to win a chance at one of five spots in the contest.
Raffle tickets are available now. Books of 11 are sold for $10. Raffle prizes include: a 200-gallon water tank, 20 pounds of local lamb (dressed), a 100 pound bag of 10-10-10 fertilizer, two local chickens (dressed) and one bottle each of local honey and honey pepper sauce. For more information, e-mail dcooper@uvi.edu or call 693-1080 or 774-5182. Join the CES Facebook event (UVICES) to stay updated and watch the Wednesday, Oct. 17, edition of "Face to Face" on Channel 12 – WTJX-TV.
VI-EPSCoR ‘Living On Earth III’ Workshop in October to Attract Representatives from 29 States VI-EPSCoR will host a four-day “Living on Earth III” (LOE III) workshop, from Oct. 23 to 26, on St. Thomas. Some 50 individuals representing all 29 EPSCoR states and jurisdictions have been invited. The workshop will address the need for effective integration of processes that link scientific knowledge and analytical approaches in social-ecological systems research. It will continue the work of the two previous workshops (LOE I and II) which were organized and hosted by Alaska EPSCoR, in 2009 and 2011. The Virgin Islands workshop will focus on conceptualizing Social-Ecological Systems science in the context of small, yet critical communities and ecosystems with challenging human dimensions. For more information, contact EPSCoR Assistant Director Nick Drayton at 692-4068 or visit the Web site :http://epscor.uvi.edu/event-living-earth.html.
UVI Accepting Applications for 2013 MA Program in Psychology-Counseling The University of the Virgin Islands Master of Arts in Psychology with a Counseling Concentration Program is accepting applications for the Spring 2013 semester. The program is designed to provide students with the necessary academic knowledge base, problem solving skills and experiential opportunities to work in a variety of social service and counseling settings. Program overview and admission criteria are available online from the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences section of the UVI website – http://www.uvi.edu – and from this direct link. Interested applicants on St. Croix and St. Thomas should submit admission applications by Oct. 30, to be considered for the spring 2013 semester. For more information contact Dr. Lucia DiMeo at (340) 692-4264 or ldimeo@uvi.edu.
Do you know this week’s “We Are UVI” contributor? – updated for Marchelle D. Clarke Brown
To find out who it is, visit “We Are UVI” at: http://weareuvi.blogspot.com. “We Are UVI” is the our Golden Jubilee blog. It features people sharing CVI/UVI stories from the past 50 years. A new submission is added each week.
This submission was posted Sunday, Sept. 23. It joins stories from Sinclair Wilkinson (’72), Rafe Boulon, Jr. (’76), Carmie Thompson (’10), Frank Mills (’67), James Rakocy, Arah Lockhart (’78), Utha Williams (’82), former UVI President LaVerne Ragster, Marthious Clavier (’02,’08), John Lucas, Maxine Nunez, Rosary Harper, Yegin Habtes, Gloria Callwood, Laurent Javois (’76), Helen Dookhan (’79, ’84, ’98), Curtis Gilpin (’80), Carolyn O’Neal-Morton (’85), Ali McClean (’93), Constance Gumbs (’87, ’91), Malcolm Kirwan (’67), Sharleen Fahie (’86, ’93), Sam Hall Jr., Richard Lippke, Randy Brown, Paul Flemming (’95, ’98, ’99), Kishma Allen (’09), Lawrence Lewis (’73), Aimery Caron, Quilin Mars (’08), Alvincent Hutson (’76), Vincent Cooper (’72), Dennis Parker, UVI President Emeritus Orville Kean, Richard Schrader, Albert Bryan (’04), Jerome McElroy and Velma Tyson (’80, ’83).
Intro to Word is Next Course in UVI-CELL Basic Computer Series on St. Thomas and St. Croix Individuals interested in getting the most of their computing experience can take advantage of a computer training series of one-day courses being offered by the University of the Virgin Islands Community Engagement and Lifelong Learning (UVICELL) Center. The Basic Computing Skills Series covers a wide range of topics to include: the Internet, setting up email and getting the most out of office productivity software such as Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook and Publisher.
The next course in the series – Introduction to Word 2010, will be held 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 6. Sessions will be held at the UVICELL Center on the St. Thomas Campus and in North West Wing Room 133 on the Albert A. Sheen Campus on St. Croix.
During the course, participants will learn how to create and save a new document, open an existing document, basic formatting, printing documents, saving documents and much more. For more information on the Computer Series, call 693-1100 or visit UVICELL on-line at http://cell.uvi.edu.
