UAS' New Menus - and the Scoop on Ice Cream
University Auxiliary Services (UAS) has learned that the way to a student�s heart is through his or her stomach. Or, to put it another way, the average Albany student in the cafeteria line is looking for three things: good, nutritious food; fast, friendly service � and plenty of ice cream!
Last spring, Albany�s Student Rights Coalition conducted a survey of students living on campus regarding dining hall service. In response to concerns raised in that survey, the UAS board of directors hired Sodexho-Marriott Consulting Services to administer a broader survey of the University community � faculty and staff, as well as students � regarding residence hall, retail, and catering food services.
Both studies, recounted UAS executive director Julia Filippone, revealed "a high level of dissatisfaction with residence hall food service, but a greater level of satisfaction with retail food services offered in the Campus Center. In general, students, faculty, and staff requested food that is fresh and healthy, prepared in a clean environment, and served by customer-friendly staff. Students were particularly dissatisfied with weekend meal service."
After evaluating the results of both surveys, UAS entered into a one-year contract with Sodexho-Marriott. The partnership has already brought about "major changes in residence hall dining and Campus Center food services," according to Filippone.
During the summer, UAS associates were educated or re-educated about food safety, cooking methods, management, and customer service, resulting in enhancements to both menus and service. In the residence halls, "we�ve moved from a five-day to a 21-day menu cycle," Filippone explained, making a greater variety of foods available and ensuring that students "won�t see the exact same configuration of food for three weeks. We do have some room to adjust for items that are especially popular or unpopular. It�s not written in stone."
In addition, weekend dining services have been enhanced in order to "reflect the same high quality as weekday meals." Nutritional information is posted for all meals. Salad and deli bar offerings have been expanded, and many more foods are prepared fresh and on-site, eliminating the need for warmed convenience foods. Fresh-baked desserts are available in each residence hall dining room at both lunch and dinner.
Change is also the order of the day at the Campus Center, where three new food units have opened. The Espresso Shoppe is a full-service coffee bar that serves flavored coffees, espresso, latte, and cappuccino. A salad bar, home-made soups, and hot turkey deli sandwiches are among the health-conscious offerings at Something Snappy. Lotsa Pasta, as its name implies, daily serves up two varieties of pasta, sauce, and other hot toppings, as well as garlic bread and salad. Alterations have been made to the serving lines at Zepp�s Sandwiches and Green Mountain in order to accommodate customers more quickly. Campus Center catering operations are also being expanded. The Podium Express program � which will offer lunch delivery to University offices from any Campus Center food outlet � will be introduced shortly. And with the approach of the holiday season, UAS will now make in-home catering available to University staff.
While UAS will focus throughout the coming year on "providing food services that please students," Filippone noted that there is another important reason for keeping customers happy: "a growing understanding that satisfaction with auxiliary services, particularly food service, contributes to the University�s ability to compete for students, and can affect enrollment and retention, as well. Certainly, the excellence of Albany�s academic programs is the primary reason students enroll. However, a student�s experience with food service when visiting the University can affect his or her overall perception of the institution, as well as his or her decision to live on or off campus. UAS is committed to contributing to Albany�s overall efforts to be a student-centered institution."
Thus far, customers have reacted favorably to the changes, said Filippone. A few alterations, though � including a tightening of the policy on removing food from the dining halls for later consumption, the addition of some vegetarian items to the vegan salad bar, and the disappearance of self-serve ice cream containers � brought a collective outcry from students.
But UAS is responding to the students� complaints. Staff have been coached on how to gently deter students from walking out of dining halls with plates of cookies and such. Safer food is ensured by students arranging with cafeteria managers to get takeout meals that will count as meals on the Quads Plus plan. "That way, we can pack for them meals that will store safely through the day," said Filippone. Vegan recipes are back closer to way students liked them.
And what�s the scoop on the ice cream? There actually was no reason for a big meltdown over the issue, said Filippone. "The Albany County Health Department cited health reasons for discontinuing the self-serve ice cream. Our ice cream freezing equipment needed to be updated. It can�t be a self-serve item; we need a food service associate to serve it for health code reasons. "
The updated equipment, the frozen treat, and the added staff to oversee them all returned on Sept. 28.
A Classroom at the Nation�s Capital
By Christine Hanson McKnight
Political science Professor Michael Malbin says he views the University�s new Washington Semester program as a bridge between the classroom and the everyday world of politics and government. His goal, he says, is for Albany students to "see the ways in which people in government are putting their skills to work in an intense, non-academic environment." Malbin, who originated and taught the course for the first time last spring, spent 17 years in Washington working in the executive and legislative branches and as a reporter and think-tank scholar before returning to academia.
Eight undergraduates participated in Albany�s first Washington Semester Program, living in the nation�s capital from January to May, working three days a week as interns in a government office and writing a research paper which grew out of their internship and reflected a special interest in a topic.
For junior Addie Jenne, who has known since grade school that she wants a career in elective politics, the program was a perfect opportunity to learn firsthand what life in Washington would be like.
"It was as if Washington was a fishbowl," said Jenne, a 20-year-old political science major. "I liked watching and hearing what went on and seeing the key players � the senators, congressmen and the President. Being that close was awesome. But the best part was that I was one of the participants."
Malbin also arranged research privileges for his students at the Library of Congress, and took them to oral arguments at the Supreme Court and hearings in the House and Senate. They met with congressmen, visited the Federal Election Commission and the Pentagon, talked with an on-camera reporter at CNN News and met with the staff of the Congressional Research Service.
The research paper, Malbin says, is a centerpiece of the program. "There was scarcely a day in my non-academic experience (working in Washington) when I was not calling upon my academic learning. I was either actively doing research or reading the research of others in a critical way," he explained. "I want to teach them how to define a topic, use the Library of Congress, write a first draft, and then revise it. I want them to care about a subject, so they should pick their office and paper assignment to fit together. I want them to understand that this is the kind of work people in government are doing every day."
Malbin said his goal is to create a complete, integrated experience, "very different from what most other programs offer to college students in Washington at much higher prices. And while the students are at it, I want them to learn job skills, experience a great city and have fun."
For her paper, Jenne examined the trend over the last 20 years of "frontloading" � scheduling presidential primaries earlier in the primary season in an effort to achieve a greater impact. Her conclusion: as a result of frontloading, candidates need to be better organized sooner than ever. "Candidates are now constantly campaigning, touring, doing book deals because they need more money upfront. It�s had a profound effect on campaign strategies."
Jenne, who was assigned to the office of the chief of staff for Vice President Al Gore, worked primarily for Albany graduate Michael Burton, Ph.D.�95, special assistant to the chief of staff. She researched events, wrote letters, made phone calls, photocopied documents, circulated information and sorted mail.
Two other Washington Semester students, John Viggiano and Ulla Kjarval interned in the office of Republican Congressman Benjamin Gilman of New York, chairman of the House Interna-tional Relations Committee. Other students were placed with Senate committees, interest groups and executive branch agencies. Viggiano and Kjarval both reported to Gilman�s press secretary, wrote press releases and newsletters, and did constituent work and other tasks. Viggiano, who was already interested in disarmament and foreign relations, was asked to compile briefing books and prepare material on NATO expansion. He eventually wrote his paper on the topic of U.S.-Russian cooperative nuclear disarmament programs. Kjarval used Library of Congress resources to examine the success and failure of various drug-control bills.
"I was proud of the final product because it was thoroughly supported by the facts," said Kjarval, a 20-year-old junior who plans a career as a historian. She added, "The whole government system in Washington seems much more approachable to me now. Not only did I live in Washington, but I was a Washingtonian."
Nyree Ryder of Oneonta, a double major in political science and English, worked in the office of Republican Congressman Sherwood Boehlert of New York, at first handling front-desk chores and greeting visitors, then moving up to doing research, covering hearings on medical topics and giving tours of the Capitol Building. For her paper, Ryder, now a 21-year-old junior, examined the philosophical differences on environmental issues between House Republicans from eastern and western states.
"The Washington program provides a wonderful opportunity for students to ground theories of how government does and should work in actual practice," said Frank J. Thompson, dean of the Graduate School of Public Affairs. "Given his experience at the highest levels of government and his stellar achievements as a scholar, it is difficult to imagine someone better suited to guide students through this experience than Michael Malbin."
The Department of Political Science expects to double the number of students enrolled in the program next spring.
Selection for the Washington Semester Program is based on grade point average, a writing sample, and an interview with Malbin. Preference is given to political science Honors Program participants, but non-majors are welcome. Besides normal tuition, the program has a net additional cost of $500, which is included in financial aid calculations. Most students in the program last year lived in a surburban Virginia apartment complex with interns from many other colleges. The apartments were comparable in cost to University residence hall fees, and about a 10-15 minute walk from Washington's Metro system.
Helping Students, Employers to ConnectCareer Day: It�s Not Just for Business Majors
By Christine Hanson McKnight
Recruiters from more than 100 companies will be on campus today and Thursday (Oct. 14-15) for the 24th annual Career Day organized by Delta Sigma Pi, the international business fraternity. This year for the first time ever, the event is two days long in response to strong interest from businesses looking to hire, according to senior Ian Kincaid, one of Career Day�s organizers. Last year, 72 companies participated.
"It�s just amazing," said Kincaid, a business major from Jamestown with a concentration in management information systems. "The economy is strong, recruiting is up, and people are looking to hire. It�s a good time to be looking for a job."
Shirley Downey, director of the University�s Career Development Center, which is cosponsoring Career Day, agrees that the job market has never been better for graduating seniors and grad students.
"The outlook has been good since 1995, but this year looks to be especially strong," said Downey. She noted that Andersen Consulting, which last year hired 15 Albany graduates, has notified her that it plans to hire even more this year in anticipation of continued growth of over 20 percent.
Kincaid is proud of Delta Sigma Pi�s efforts with Career Day. "We�ve worked hard over the last three years to make this a really professional event. We are having a lot of companies contacting us. The reputation of the School of Business also really helps, along with the overall reputation of the University," he said.
Kincaid pointed out that Career Day is not just for business majors, but for undergraduate and graduate students from any field. With that in mind, Delta Sigma Pi this year contacted academic departments across campus and made a special effort to attract firms looking to hire graduates from a variety of backgrounds.
Students who want to attend can show up any time between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. in the Campus Center Ballroom to speak to campus recruiters, share resumes and learn about the companies that are hiring. The day is free, but Kincaid emphasized that students should "look professional."
"It�s a chance not just to meet with reps and circulate a resume, but to get a feel for what the corporate environment of a company might be, and to learn what to expect if you do get hired," he said.
The hottest jobs, Downey said, are in the information technology field, including computer programmers, network administrators, software engineers, systems analysts, database administrators, and managers, lawyers and marketers with a strong understanding of technology. The Internet and other multimedia technologies, she said, are creating an unprecedented demand for people with creative but technical skills, and demand is also strong for biologists, chemists, health care professionals, teachers, and for individuals seeking careers in finance, the service industries, travel, hospitality, job-training, and management consulting.
As more companies with worldwide locations expand overseas, college graduates with foreign language skills and sensitivity to other cultures are also in demand. But most importantly, Downey said, employers are looking for students who have "real world" practical experience in their career fields, either through internships or volunteer experiences. Good grades, campus leadership, good communication skills and the ability to learn easily help too.
For the first time in many years, she added, the number of new bachelor�s degree graduates will decline, by 1.2 percent. "As the numbers of degrees go down, the market goes up," Downey said.
She said that, nationally, the average salary offer for an accounting major is $32,000; for careers in management information systems, $39,000; finance, chemistry, and the sciences, $33,000; political science, $27,000; psychology, public relations and teaching, $25,000; mathematics, $36,000.
For the 21-year-old Kincaid, who is looking for a job as an management information systems consultant with a larger firm, organizing Career Day has all been worthwhile.
"I�ve had a chance to work with companies I�ll be interviewing, plus I�ve had the experience of organizing the event. It�s also a great way to showcase the abilities of the University�s students."
Albany's GIMPS: Primed and Anything But Idle
By Vinny Reda
The graphs on Stephen E. DeLong�s personal computer tell the story of the University�s meteoric ascent � off the charts a year ago, but steadily climbing into the top ten worldwide, then gradually leveling off to eighth, then seventh place. Such a rise could probably only occur in the zippy realm of cyberspace, where the University and its idle computers have vaulted to seventh among 4,000 participants in the search for Mersenne prime numbers.
It is indeed an impressive showing, according to DeLong, special assistant to the Provost and a member of the Department of Geological Sciences, since Albany has been on the project only a year this August, with its number of participating computers rising slowly in that time to just above 80.
"We�re churning away," said DeLong. "We cleared our 1,000th exponent in mid September, and are now at nearly four billion iterations. We haven�t found a Mersenne prime yet, but then the search has been running worldwide for three years now and has only found three."
That global effort is called GIMPS � The Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search � and it is being led by George Woltman of Orlando, Fla. "Woltman has written a program, Prime95, that uses only idle cycles to look for very large prime numbers � those divisible only by themselves and one," writes DeLong on his website, "GIMPS at Albany."
"Actually, the program looks for a particular type of prime number, a Mersenne prime, in which the exponent �p� itself must be prime. It turns out that �p� can be prime without the Mersenne number itself being prime � but that�s another story."
The story of the Mersenne primes� name is that it honors the 17th Century French monk Mersenne Marin, who aided the mathematicians and scientists of his time, and took a turn or two at prime numbers himself. Current searches for large prime numbers � the Mersenne effort is now investigating primes as large as 2.05 million � aid current knowledge because such numbers are the basis for most modern encryption systems.
In addition, one of the particular aims of the Albany project, said DeLong, was "to show that there are many idle PC cycles that can be used productively in a networked environment. Even if your screen is strewn with icons and open windows, even if you occasionally have two or three or eight Web searches going at once, even if you feel frantically busy trying to get several tasks completed, that�s your sense of busy. The reality is that your processor is usually on vacation."
Based on "Pentium 90 CPU years" � that is, the number of years that it would take a single P90 machine working non-stop and exclusively to produce a given set of results � the University as of Oct. 3 had produced 72.86 "P90 years."
"Further upward motion in the rankings will be very difficult, as the competition is using about the same amount of horsepower as we are," said DeLong.
He noted that the computer of Sue Darbyshire of Technology Services was responsible for not only the three millionth iteration � "Reminds me of those Golden Arches," he beamed � in the University�s Mersenne quest, but shortly after that Albany�s 1,000th exponent cleared.
Woltman is certainly aware of Albany�s contribution. He has added a link to the University�s Website in his opening discussion of the project on his own site (http://www.mersenne.org/prime.htm). He adds, "If you are worried about how this software might affect your computer, the University of Albany has written an excellent case study."
And, computers idle but undaunted, Albany�s still on the case.
