Briefs

Arts recognition award: The Cornell Council for the Arts, in cooperation with the Cultural Endeavors committee of the Cornell University Council, is seeking, from within the university, nominations of undergraduate students who have demonstrated notable achievements in the arts. Two awards, which were established by the Cultural Endeavors committee in 1997 as an annual citation, are given to an alumnus/a and an undergraduate student. Visual artist and alumna Susan Rothenberg has been elected to receive the 1998-99 Cornell Alumni Award for Distinction in the Arts, but the council is seeking nominations of undergraduate students who are worthy to receive the 1998-99 Student Award for Excellence and Exceptional Activity in the Arts. Nominations and supporting letters from Cornell deans, directors, department chairs or representing faculty are due March 11 in the office of the Council for the Arts, 341 Caldwell Hall. The nominees should be informed by their nominators to meet with Anna Geske, executive director of the council, and make available to her: a resume, some examples or a portfolio of artistic work, and a letter of recommendation from someone familiar with that work. Award selections by the committee will be made in May.

Plantations seeks tour guides: Cornell Plantations is seeking volunteer guides to give tours to schoolchildren and the general public in the Mundy Wildflower Garden and other areas. Weekly training sessions are scheduled for Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to noon, March 4 through April 29. Familiarity with wildflowers and native plants is helpful but not essential. Volunteers should expect to conduct at least one tour a month during the spring and early summer. Plantations has more than 50 active volunteers who assist with gardening, natural areas maintenance, tours, information services, gift shop staffing, lectures, education programs, special events, clerical work, development and public relations. Volunteers also write for Plantations publications and update lists of what is in bloom for our garden visitors. They craft items for the Plantations gift shop and serve regularly on various administrative and advisory committees. Benefits to volunteers include membership in Cornell Plantations, the Plantations newsletter and magazine and discounts in the gift shop and on Plantations classes. For more information call volunteer coordinator Fair Gouldin at 255-2406.

EZ-Remote disconnect policy: Effective at the close of business Feb. 6, EZ-Remote high-speed connections that have been idle for more than two hours will be disconnected. An idle connection is one that is not sending or receiving data. In the past, idle connections have accounted for more than 7 percent of the high-speed modems in use. The new policy will help the EZ-Remote Support Team ensure that all subscribers have equitable access to the modems, said Bob Gabriel, EZ-Remote product manager. A fee-based service offered by CIT, EZ-Remote provides dial-up access to Cornell's computer network at speeds of up to 33.2K bits per second. (CIT's free dial-up service, EZ-Remote/low, is not affected by this disconnect policy.)