Briefs

New faculty orientation: New faculty will be welcomed to Cornell by Provost Biddy Martin and other academic officials at a special orientation session Thursday, Sept. 2, from 2:30 to 6 p.m. in Taylor Rooms A and B of the Statler Hotel's Banfi's Restaurant. Martin will answer questions about promotion and tenure. Isaac Kramnick, vice provost for academic programs and institutional initiatives, will describe resources available for undergraduate and graduate teaching and student services. The role of faculty in service and outreach will be discussed by Associate Provost Stephen Hamilton and Dean of Faculty Charles Walcott. In addition, there will be small group discussions about research resources led by David Harris, professor of sociology and director of the Institute for the Social Sciences, addressing the social sciences; Brett de Bary, professor of Asian studies and comparative literature and director of the Society for the Humanities, addressing the humanities; and Robert Richardson, vice provost for research, addressing the physical and biological sciences. The orientation will conclude with a campus tour and wine-and-cheese reception. All faculty newly appointed as of Jan. 1 are invited to attend and should respond by Aug. 25 to Marie Friess, at mf253@cornell.edu.

Other new-faculty events include a reception to be hosted by President Jeffrey Lehman and Walcott early in the fall semester. A new minority faculty and staff reception will be held Sept. 23 from 5 to 7:30 p.m., and a new women faculty and staff reception is planned for Oct. 21 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. The contact person for those two events is Sonja Baylor, at ssb8@cornell.edu.

Team-building course: Cornell Outdoor Education (COE) is offering professional experience-based team-building programs to all Cornell staff departments at up to 50 percent off the standard fee, in exchange for participating in a study on the effectiveness of such programs. Qualifying work teams will receive a $330 discount, which is half off the $660 minimum group fee. The study is being conducted by Bradford Bell, a professor in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, supplemented by a $13,000 grant from the ILR School's Center for Applied Human Resource Studies (CAHRS).

Qualifying work teams must meet the following criteria:1) The team exists to carry out tasks that are important to the organization. 2) Team members interact regularly and rely on one another to get the work done. 3) Team members share at least one common goal. 4) The team is viewed by its members and others (e.g., supervisors) as a distinct unit. For more information on setting up a staff department team-building program, call 255-9512 or visit http://www.CornellTeambuilding.com.

English course for visiting scholars: A noncredit English language course will be offered at Cornell for visiting scholars and others who want to improve their English skills, particularly speaking and listening comprehension and pronunciation. Classes will be held Thursdays from 6 to 8 p.m., beginning Aug. 26 and ending Dec.16. All language-learning activities will be oriented toward what will be most useful to participants during their stay here. In addition to the weekly classes, field trips are regularly scheduled to provide opportunities for discussion with native English speakers and insight into American culture and history. The program fee is $450. For more information contact Donna Colunio, School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions, B-20 Day Hall, 255-7259, cusp@cornell.edu.

2004-05 course catalog: Cornell University 2004-05 Courses of Study is available online at http://cuinfo.cornell.edu/Academic/Courses/. The course catalog includes course descriptions, general course information and other universitywide information. The site features a search tool, allowing users to search Cornell's approximately 6,500 courses by course description, department and course title.