Briefs

Weiss Fellows: Faculty, academic staff and junior and senior students have until Feb. 21 to submit nominations for the Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellows Award. Established by the Board of Trustees in 1992, the award recognizes tenured faculty who have a sustained record of effective, inspiring and distinguished teaching of undergraduate students at Cornell. Weiss Fellows receive a $5,000-a-year award for five years and hold the title as long as they continue to hold a professorial appointment at Cornell. Nominations from faculty should include the nominator's own letter, an additional supporting letter from a faculty member or other member of the academic staff and letters of support from six undergraduate students. Student nominators should include, in addition to their own letter, one supporting letter from another student and the names and addresses of four students who are willing to write letters of support. The committee will obtain any additional material required.

All nomination letters should make a substantial case for the nominee, addressing his or her specific contributions, including examples which demonstrate:

• making distinctive contributions to undergraduate teaching such as challenging and well-organized presentations of the subject, adaptability to the learning needs of students, innovative approaches to course materials, creation of scholarly materials for student use, availability to students outside of class.

• influencing students beyond the formal role as a teacher such as advising or mentoring individual students, advising student organizations or groups, serving on teaching and curriculum committees and informal interacting with students.

• helping students by aiding in case of illness or other emergency and advising students confronted with difficult problems.

Nominations should be sent to the Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellows Committee, 315 Day Hall. For further information, call 255-4843.

Substance abuse stories sought: ALERT, the student peer education program, is seeking personal stories and artistic expressions about substance abuse and oppression for an open forum next fall in Willard Straight Hall. Anyone wishing to "go public" with their experiences may contact Nanci Rose, the outreach coordinator in the Gannett Health Center's Drug Risk-reduction Program, at 255-4782, E-mail nah2@cornell.edu. The public forum is sponsored by ALERT Peer Education, with assistance from PEHR and a grant from the office of the Dean of Students.

Nominations open: The Women's Studies Program is seeking nominations and self-nominations of Cornell faculty, students, staff and community members to serve on its executive board, effective July 1. For further information contact the Women's Studies Program, 391 Uris Hall, 255-6480. Nominations will be open until March 4. New board members are selected by the existing board. Women's Studies, a permanent program in the College of Arts and Sciences, aims to encourage the development of teaching and scholarship about women and the sex/gender system as it affects both women and men.