Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Thursday Night Football at Knute's


The Shippensburg University athletics department has announced the creation of "Thursday Night Football with Coach Mac" - a weekly community event to be held 6:30 - 8 p.m. from Knute's Pub and Grill in which fans and community members can interact with SU's head coach.

The event is scheduled to begin Thursday, September 1 and be held on successive Thursdays through the end of the season.

Each week, fans will have the opportunity to meet with SU head football coach Mark "Mac" Maciejewski '92/'96M to not only discuss the previous week's opponent, but to also talk about the game on tap for the upcoming weekend.

Visit www.shipraiders.com for more information.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Rain Greets 1,750 new students moving into SU

Taken from Public Opinion:
With rain as their welcome, an estimated 1,750 new students moved onto Shippensburg University campus Thursday.

Members from several of the university's student organizations, including the football team, helped unload many cars filled with supplies and moved the students' belongings into residence halls.

New students were regularly greeted with a smile and the question, "Do you need any help?" at Mowrey Hall, where Ashley Jarvis, a senior psychology student, and her sorority, Alpha Omicron Pi, were working to get students into their rooms.

Jarvis said the Shippensburg chapter was happy to assist the freshmen.

"We're out to help and be social," she said. "It's really cool that everyone is working together."

Established students weren't the only ones doing some heavy lifting Thursday. University President William N. Ruud and the School's Association of Pennsylvania State College and Universities Faculty members also broke a sweat.

Dr. Ruud, who had been up since 7 a.m. moving in new arrivals, said that move-in day is not just a freshman affair.

"It's a family effort," he said.

Providing a helping hand is another way of making students feel welcome, Ruud said.

"If not for the students, the rest of us would not be here," he said. (We try to) treat them better than the Hilton or the Hyatt."

Students were given their move-in time based on their ZIP code, making what could have been a hectic day run more efficiently. That didn't go unnoticed by some parents.

Diane Brunner, mother of freshman Will Brunner, said that the moving in at Shippensburg was a much better experience then she has had in the past with other schools.

"When we moved my daughter in, it was just chaos," she said. "I give (this move-in) a 10. It's been very smooth compared to others we have done."

Even though the Sellersville mom said she will miss her son, he won't be by himself at the university.

"Three little boys I carpooled to preschool are going here. They didn't plan it, it was a coincidence," she said. "One of them is (my son's) roommate.

Brunner said having his friends on campus is a plus.

"It makes it a lot better," he said.

Classes for the fall semester begin Monday.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Tau Lambda Re-dedication

We are extremely excited to announce this past weekend the sisters of Tau Lambda participated in our re-dedication ceremony. We hope to have a lot of new news for you soon, including updates from our sisters as well as announcement of the new Alum Advisory Committee. Congratulations, girls... we are looking forward to a bright new semester!

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Some Cool Links

Alpha Omicron Pi, Tau Lambda Chapter, Shippensburg University has a new facebook group.. be sure to check it out!!!

Want to hear more about what's going on in the AOII World??? Visit the AOII Suitcase Diaries for updates.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Registration: AOII Northeast Weekend

Registration for the AOII Northeast Weekend is Now Open!!

We're delighted to share with you that registration is now open for the AOII Northeast Weekend! The event will be held in King of Prussia, PA (in the Philadelphia area) the weekend of October 22-23.

Click here to access the registration form. Remember to register early to take advantage of our early registration rates!

Be sure to become a Facebook fan to be the first to know additional weekend details, like programming topics, speakers and other fun stuff.

We look forward to seeing you in October!

Hotel
Fairfield Inn
258 Mall Boulevard King of Prussia, PA USA
Phone: 1-610-337-0700
Ask For: Alpha Omicron Pi Regional Weekend
$99/night for 1 room with 2 double beds, sleeps 4 (required for collegians)
Rate available until the room block sells out, so book early!

*** Please note that programming will begin on Saturday, October 22, at 9:00 a.m. We will break at 4:00 pm for dinner/shopping (the largest mall on the east coast is across the street from our hotel!). We will reconvene for a sisterhood activity at 8:00 pm. On Sunday, October 23, programming will begin at 9:00 am, and we will adjourn our weekend by 1:00 pm. Please keep an eye on our Facebook page for our official agenda and program schedule. ***

Fraternally,
The Northeast Weekend Planning Committee

Monday, August 8, 2011

Ship Construction

Shippensburg University has begun a construction project to rebuild nine dormitories for a total of $200 million.

Started Thursday, phase one of the project will include razing and constructing three residence halls, two on the north side of the campus and one on the south side. Construction will include changes in roads and parking on the campus.

The project is managed by the Shippensburg University Student Services Inc., an independent nonprofit organization acting as the voice for the student community and functioning separately from the university campusapts.com will construct the nine-residence hall initiative, with the total project slated to be completed in 2015, for a total housing availability for 2,975 students.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Housing Project to begin at University

One of the largest, if not the largest, single construction project at Shippensburg University begins Aug. 4 and will end in 2015 with all new residence halls for on-campus students. The project also means changes in roads and parking on campus that will affect members of the campus community as well as visitors.

“Shippensburg University strives to provide our students with the academic and support services they need to reach their dreams,” said President Bill Ruud. “These new residence halls will further enhance our nationally-recognized excellence by providing students with additional out-of-class experiences that will help them academically and personally. When the buildings are complete, students will have outstanding facilities in which they will live and, as importantly, learn. We're excited about this opportunity to meet the needs of our students.”;

Phase one of the three-phase project will include construction of three residence halls, two on the north side of campus and one on the south side. The student-approved project is under the direction of Shippensburg University Student Services Inc. (SUSSI), an independent 501(c)(3), non-profit organization that serves as the voice for the student community and is separate and distinct from the university. SUSSI is the project owner and is responsible for financing and construction.

The overall project includes razing all but one of the current residence halls and constructing all new residence halls in semi-suite and full-suite arrangements. It is being developed by Campus Apartments, one of the nation’s largest developers, owners and managers of student housing. Cost of the initial phase is approximately $70 million with total project cost estimated to be more than $ 200 million.

In 2007 a comprehensive housing plan was prepared as part of the university’s facilities master plan. The university currently has seven traditional residence halls and one suite-style facility. These facilities were built between 1959 and 1976. In addition it leases an apartment building adjacent to campus from the Shippensburg University Foundation. All these residence facilities can house a total of 2,715 students.

When the three-phase project is completed in summer 2015, total capacity will be 2,975 students, an increase of 260 over current capacity.


Tuesday, August 2, 2011

President Ruud's Budget Message

Dear Ship Family:
As we begin the 2011-12 academic year, I want to share updated information with you on our current budget situation. While the situation is better than we anticipated, it still poses serious challenges to all members of the campus community.

Earlier this year, the proposed state budget included a 54 percent funding cut for the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) and, subsequently, Shippensburg University. Throughout the budget process, information was shared with legislators, the Office of the Governor, our alumni and friends, the entire Ship community, and others on what such a drastic cut would mean to PASSHE, its students and the citizens of the Commonwealth we serve. The final budget that was approved and signed cut 18 percent from PASSHE's appropriation.

On June 30, 2011, PASSHE's Board of Governors (BOG) approved a $436 tuition increase (7.5 percent) for 2011-12. This increase brings in-state annual tuition to $6,240, a rate that remains among the lowest rate of all four-year colleges and universities in Pennsylvania, and well below the national average for public institutions.

Even with this increase, we must cut more than $4.6 million from the 2011-12 budget. This painful reduction is in addition to more than $20 million we have already cut since the 2003-04 academic year. These reductions include cuts in equipment funding, overtime, elimination of vacant positions, and leaving additional positions vacant. All cuts to date were made throughout the university and have been done in cooperation with all members of the campus community. We will continue that philosophy as we make this year's cuts, but these reductions come with serious consequences.

We have been able to save costs in personnel through attrition or not filling vacancies, especially in the physical plant where staff associates continue to do their excellent work despite having a vacancy rate of nearly 20 percent. It does mean, however, that some needed maintenance work will be postponed and difficult decisions will be made about work priorities.

At top left is a link to a more detailed draft of where we plan to make cuts or, in some cases, have been able to increase revenue through innovative entrepreneurial efforts in several areas. This draft is not final and I welcome, as always, suggestions for other savings. Also at top left is a link to the budget presentation made to the BOG In June.

In spite of the difficulty of the budget process and our numerous cuts, Shippensburg remains an outstanding university that provides a quality education to its students. These budget cuts will not change that as we continue on our road to success. I appreciate the hard work and extra effort by all of you in the Ship family.

This environment is one in which we are likely to find ourselves for the next few years. As we move forward, we must work hard to continue to transform Shippensburg so that we have better long-term planning for both appropriations and tuition, equal footing with our other colleagues in Pennsylvania for procurement and construction regulations, and more innovative and creative entrepreneurial ways to generate resources for ourselves.

We will need to work hard these next few years in continuing to excel at the job we do best - student success!!! We also must continue the open dialogue and conversation as to how we can continue to control our own destiny and truly make Shippensburg University the "Flagship" institution of PASSHE in Pennsylvania.