UVI Community, Public Invited to Launch of University Service Charters on Sept. 19
UVI President Dr. LaVerne E. Ragster has invited the UVI community as well as the Virgin Islands public to the official launching ceremony of Service Charters for several components and departments of the University. The ceremony is scheduled for 2 to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 19, simultaneously on both campuses. It will be available via videoconference in the first-floor conference room of the Administration and Conference Center on St. Thomas and in the Great Hall of the North West Wing Annex on St. Croix. Service Charters are part of the University's VISION 2012 commitment to improve service, accountability and cross-functionality. Service Charters describe the service experience that clients can expect from UVI departments and components.
Next Home Game for Volleyball Bucs Set Sept. 20 in Sports and Fitness Center
UVI's Buccaneers volleyball squad will play their next home game of the 2008 LAI season at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20, in the UVI Sports and Fitness Center. The Bucs will host UPR-Bayamon. Admission is free. The Bucs go into the match with one win and two losses in league play.
Due to a scheduling misunderstanding, the Buccaneers' first league action took place on Thursday, Sept. 11, in the Sports and Fitness Center with a match against UPR-Humacao. The Bucs defeated Humacao in straight sets 25-22, 25-23, 25-20.
Following that opening win, the Bucs dropped two road games in Puerto Rico last weekend in matches against American University on Sept. 12 and two-time defending league champions Sacred Heart University on Sept. 13. American won three sets to two 25-16, 26-24, 20-25, 16-25, 15-12 and Sacred Heart won in straight sets 25-19, 25-14, 25-17.
The Sports and Fitness center will also host a boys and girls high school volleyball tournament beginning at noon on Saturday, Sept. 20. Play will continue throughout the afternoon. Admission is free.
Parent Empowerment Workshops to Begin Sept. 18 on St. Thomas
The first session in a series of parent empowerment workshops to be offered by the Virgin Islands University Center for Excellence on Developmental Disabilities (VIUCEDD) is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 18, on St. Thomas. The workshops are designed for parents of children with disabilities. The first session will focus on school programs for children with disabilities and the rights of the individuals involved. It will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Administration and Conference Center on UVI's St. Thomas campus. Future workshops in the series will focus on a wide variety of issues including transitions, employment and college rights, assistive technology and early childhood. Parents will be asked to suggest additional subjects. Each workshop will also include a question and answer session and a resource table.
The workshop series is sponsored by VIUCEDD in conjunction with the Virgin Islands Family Information Network on Disabilities (VIFIND) and the State Office of Education. For details, contact Shammi Carr at VIUCEDD at 693-1173.
World Food Day Set Oct. 19 on UVI’s St. Croix Campus
World Food Day activities will be held on the grounds of UVI's St. Croix campus from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 19. The public is invited to support junior high and high school students as they compete in the first World Food Day "Youth Super Chef" competition. Other activities will include the distribution of free vegetable seedlings for use in home gardens, a food vendors' court, a farmers' market, tours of the UVI Agricultural Experiment Station (AES) field facilities, a hunger banquet, a "House of CANs" competition, a petting zoo, music and workshops on growing sweet corn and sorrel, and raising rabbits.
World Food Day is designed to highlight the plight of the hungry and undernourished in the territory and the world. The local observance is hosted by the UVI Cooperative Extension Service in partnership with the V.I. Department of Agriculture and UVI's AES. A news release is available from the UVI web site – www.uvi.edu.
St. Thomas Campus Lunch & Learn Session on Hypertension Set Sept. 19
The next topic in the St. Thomas campus Health Services Center's Lunch & Learn series will be hypertension. Dr. Wishburne Hunte will make a presentation at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 19, at the Health Services Center. The UVI community is invited to attend. For details, contact Health Services Supervisor Ronda Hatchett.
Students Sought for Saturday Science Academies at UVI on St. Croix
St. Croix students in grades five through eight are being sought to participate in the 2008-2009 Science Awareness Saturday Academies program at the University of the Virgin Islands' St. Croix campus.
The Academies are an outreach program conducted by UVI's Division of Science and Mathematics. They are designed expose students to enrichment activities in STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — areas. Instruction will be provided by UVI faculty and staff, and other community professionals with expertise in subject areas.
The St. Croix Academies are divided into two sections, one for fifth and sixth graders, and one for seventh and eighth graders. Sections will meet one Saturday per month. The program, which is free for participants, begins on Sept. 27.
There are spaces for 30 students in each section. The application deadline is Friday, Sept. 19.
Funding for the Science Awareness Academies is being provided by a grant from the Jones, Holloway, Bryan Foundation. For more information, contact Jacqueline Kowalski at 514-3904 or send email to jkowals@uvi.edu.
Coastweeks Beach Cleanups Begin Sept. 20 in the Virgin Islands
Coastweeks is coming! Virgin Islands Coastweeks cleanup activities will begin on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2008, and will continue through Oct. 11, 2008. Volunteers at beaches on St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John will join thousands of people from more than 80 countries worldwide in the planet's largest volunteer cleanup on behalf of the marine environment.
Marcia Taylor of the Virgin Islands Marine Advisory Service (VIMAS) is coordinating the Coastweeks activities on St. Croix. "This effort will hopefully help policy makers make decisions to help solve the marine debris problem," Taylor said. The Coastweeks beach cleanups have been an annual activity in the Virgin Islands for about the past 15 years. "Every year we are getting trash off the beach and getting information out to people," she said.
A news release is available on the UVI web site — www.uvi.edu.
Volunteers Sought for Brewer's Bay Coastweeks Cleanup on Sept. 20
A Coastweeks Clean-up at UVI's Brewer's Bay Beach and adjacent Perseverance Bay is scheduled for 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Sept. 20. Participants should meet at Brewer's Bay at 8 a.m. They are advised to wear a comfortable clothes and shoes, bring water, sunscreen, swimwear and snorkel gear. Organizers will provide garbage bags, data cards and pencils.
For more information call Lihla Noori at the Virgin Islands Marine Advisory Service at 693-1392, send email to lnoori@uvi.edu or stop by room 210 at the MacLean Marine Science Center.
IYR Snorkel Clinic, Beach Cleanup Set Sept. 20 at St. Croix's Dorsch Beach
The UVI Marine Advisory Service on the St. Croix campus and the 2008 International Year of the Reef Committee (IYR) invites the community to a free snorkel clinic and beach cleanup at Dorsch Beach in Frederiksted from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Sept. 20. Snorkel gear will be provided for the clinic, and gloves and bags will be available for cleanup participants. Free snacks and prizes will be given. The activity is part of a series of events marking the International Year of the Reef on St. Croix. For details, contact Emily Tyner at 292-4144.
Public Invited to Tenth UVI Undergraduate Research Symposium
The Virgin Islands public is invited to attend the Tenth Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium sponsored by the Emerging Caribbean Scientists program of the Division of Science and Mathematics at the University of the Virgin Islands. The symposium is scheduled for 1 to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 21, in the UVI Administration Conference Center (ACC) on the St. Thomas campus.
Approximately 40 UVI students will present posters displaying the results of research they have conducted over the past year. The symposium is part of an overall effort to increase research training and promote excellence in UVI students. It provides an opportunity for students to display the results of their work and for the public to interact with them. The event traditionally draws an audience from the UVI community, the general public, and junior high and high school students interested in mathematics and science. A news release is available on the UVI web site — www.uvi.edu.
For more about the University of the Virgin Islands, visit the Web site: www.uvi.edu.
