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UHDS to host after hours phone help during room selection  May 1st, 2012

On the following days University Housing & Dining Services UHDS will remain available via live chat and telephone until 7 p.m. to assist new students with the room selection process.

May 10

May 14

May 15

May 18

May 25

CONTACT INFO

University Housing & Dining Services, Oregon State University 102 Buxton Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331-1317 541.737.4771 or 800.291.4192 Contact us with your comments, questions and feedback.

Now hiring: Administrative Programs Specialist  May 1st, 2012

University Housing and Dining Services (UHDS) at Oregon State University (OSU) seeks candidates for one full-time Administrative Program Specialist.
 
This position provides administrative support to the financial business objectives and marketing and promotional project coordination/management for multiple projects at different stages of completion, working directly with department clients, ensuring that their objectives and goals are reached.  A fundamental working knowledge of campus housing and dining operations is vital to the effective customer service required of this position.

This position is set up in a dual report structure. Approximately .50 FTE is supervised by the Assistant Director of the UHDS Marketing, Assessment, and Communications (MAC) unit. The remaining .50 FTE is under the supervision of the Assistant Director of the UHDS Finance and Business Services (FABS) unit.

Marketing, Assessment, and Communications seeks to enhance and support the brand image of UHDS by developing targeted strategic communications / market planning, advertising, direct marketing and market research for department operations. Financial and Business Services oversees department finances and purchases in collaboration with the Auxiliaries and Activities Business Center and department units.  
 
University Housing & Dining Services recognizes the importance of learning both in and out of the classroom, and supports the concept of education as an individual as well as a community experience. Our primary focus is service to OSU students. We strive to provide our students, faculty, staff, and guests with safe, economical, on-campus living and dining options that are convenient and comfortable. We offer a variety of living and dining options in fourteen residence halls, four cooperatives, three dining centers, two coffee shops, a market, and a limited number of family apartments and houses. Our Department is an auxiliary enterprise which is funded solely by customers who use our services — we receive no State or tax dollars. We work to maintain the highest educational and service standards for our customers. University Housing and Dining Services is committed to an appreciation for diversity, and fosters an open respectful and enjoyable living, learning atmosphere.

A personal and professional commitment to providing excellent customer service and creating inclusive environments is a core value of University Housing and Dining Services.

Pay range $2521-$3619/month
For full job description and qualifications, and to apply visit
http://oregonstate.edu/jobs/  Posting #0008983
Closes May 11.


Power outage update  April 24th, 2012

The West side of campus is experiencing unexpected interruptions to power on Tuesday, April 24, in the following buildings:

  • Buxton
  • Cauthorn
  • Hawley
  • Poling
  • Marketplace West Dining Center

Please use caution while navigating your building.  Elevators may not be functioning properly at this time. Residents are also encouraged to turn off computers and other sensitive electronic devices during the outage.  The wireless network in Hawley Hall has been impacted by this outage as well.

Pacific Power has been contacted to determine the cause of the power outage and UHDS will provide an update as soon as more information is available. We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause. If you have any questions or concerns please contact your RA.

Afternoon update (3:30 p.m.): At this time, power has been restored to the West side of campus; however Pacific Power is still working to complete the necessary permanent repairs. Given the work in progress, we anticipate another short-term power outage later today in Buxton, Hawley, Cauthorn halls and Marketplace West Dining Center.

Marketplace West will reopen with limited dinner service and menu offerings. Again, a short-term disruption may occur during meal times.

Thank you again for your patience as we resume normal operations in our residence halls and Marketplace West.

Sincerely,

 

University Housing & Dining Services

Oregon State University

541-737-4771

oregonstate.edu/uhds

 


(Re)building community  April 23rd, 2012

[Corvallis Gazette-Times, April 22, 2012} — On the official zoning map of Corvallis, Oregon State University appears as a big blue blob framed by a checkerboard pattern of multicolored rectangles.

Many of the blocks adjacent to campus are tinted brown, designating high-density residential zoning. The effects of that zoning have been playing out for years, as single-family homes and small apartment houses have gradually given way to rows of student townhouse rentals and ever-larger apartment blocks.

For Charlyn Ellis, the scope of this rapidly accelerating transformation became clear in January, when the World War II-era Wilson Woods Apartments on Northwest 29th Street were torn down to make way for a 215-bedroom townhouse complex.

With wave after wave of OSU enrollment inundating the local rental market, pressure for new student housing continues to build, leaving many of the older neighborhoods around campus ripe for high-density redevelopment.

“If you talk to OSU and the city about where students will live,” Ellis said, “we’re in (the path of) the wrecking ball.”

Rather than wait for the wrecking ball to strike again, Ellis and other preservation-minded area residents decided to push back with a new group called Citizens for Livable Corvallis.

With about 25 active participants, the fledgling organization has no officers and is still defining its mission, but its basic goal is to preserve established neighborhoods as much as possible — not just near the university but all over Corvallis.

“We have representatives from every neighborhood association in the flat part of town, and we’re going up the hills,” said Ellis, a high school English teacher who’s active in the Chintimini Neighborhood Association. “We’re trying to get people from all the key groups who can pass on information.”

Among other things, Citizens for Livable Corvallis advocates adaptive reuse rather than demolition of older buildings, new construction that is compatible with surrounding structures, solving neighborhood parking issues and addressing conflicts between college students and older residents.

Members meet periodically and communicate regularly via Facebook and a lively Google Groups account, sharing information about pending teardowns and construction projects.

They also send delegates to observe City Council and Planning Commission meetings wearing CLC buttons and have begun working on ways to influence local policy. Several members have been appointed to serve on work groups of the OSU-Corvallis collaboration project, a long-term effort to address town and gown issues.

“I think that’s why this group formed,” said Lori Stephens, an architect who testified before the Planning Commission against plans for a 279-bedroom student apartment complex on Northwest Harrison Boulevard.

“Let’s not just say, ‘Well, that’s just the way it is — we can’t do anything about it.’ Let’s see what can be done.”

And the organization wants to see Oregon State University take a more active role in addressing the issues arising from skyrocketing enrollment growth.

Eric Hansen, an associate director of University Housing & Dining Services, said OSU officials are working on it, but there are no easy solutions.

For instance, his agency has legislative approval to build a new residence hall. But with 250 vacant dorm beds right now, it’s holding off until demand picks up.

“What we are best at is first-year student housing,” Hansen said. “Typically we have about 80 percent of first-year students living on campus.”

The housing agency is exploring ways to boost its freshman numbers still further while expanding offerings that will appeal to upperclassmen. Steps under consideration include requiring all freshmen to live on campus, holding down cost increases for dorm rents and meal plans, and grouping older students in “cohorts” in designated residence halls.

“We probably agree with a lot of the ideas and principles of Corvallis community groups,” Hansen said. “The question is, how do we get there from here?”

Beierle said the university just needs to get more creative about building on-campus housing that is cheaper and less dorm-like.

“There’s a tremendous amount of design talent on campus. They could come up with student housing that meets the students’ needs at a reasonable price,” Beierle said.

“I’m persuaded that no matter what the problem is, there’s a way to design a solution.”

Ultimately, Citizens for Livable Corvallis wants the university to thrive, said Courtney Cloyd, a retired Forest Service geologist who’s active in the Central Park Neighborhood Association. But CLC also wants OSU to be a good neighbor to its host city, and the organization intends to make sure that happens.

“Without this kind of drive, without this kind of pressure from the community, OSU isn’t going to take the initiative,” Cloyd said.

“They’re going to be as good a neighbor as we make them be.”

Read the full article by Corvallis Gazette-Times reporter Bennett Hall.


Important message for West Hall residents  April 2nd, 2012

Today, April 2, is the first day of Priority Housing Selection. Unfortunately, because of space pre-reserved in West Hall for 2012-13 by groups such as the University Honors College and INTO OSU, there are no spaces available at this time for current West residents who had hoped to return to live in the same room or the same hall in 2012-13.

University Housing & Dining Services apologizes that this was not communicated earlier to current West residents. We are working with our Housing Assignments office to help place returning West students in other halls around campus such as the upperclassmen communities of Halsell and Finley halls, and will give those students the most priority possible. See the full list of housing themes.

If you have questions regarding your housing application, please contact our Housing Assignments office at (541) 737-4771 or at housing@oregonstate.edu.

More information of Housing Selection.


‘Grandma’ Jayne serves students for 8 years  March 22nd, 2012

[The Daily Barometer, March 16, 2012] —  Concept manager Jayne Novotny, is a person who many consider the heart and spirit of West dining on campus.

Tuesday through Saturday of every week, she arrives at work by 11a.m. to help open shop.

Her father was a Teamster directly under Jimmy Hoffa, as was her aunt. Novotny cracked a sly smirk as she discussed her father’s work during her youth.

“They all had semis back in the 40s, and my dad ran moonshine all throughout Missouri and Illinois. We lived mostly out on farms or ranches, and that’s probably why I talk the way I talk.”

Not referencing a dialect or an accent when she mentions “talk,” 64-year-old Novotny, much to the enjoyment of her co-workers, has a mouth to rival that of George Carlin. You haven’t heard a dirty joke until you have heard it from a short, rail-thin woman who, despite her pension for snide humor, has become known as the “Grandma” of West Dining Center.

“She is the most feminine male I know,” said Dave, her husband of 35 years.

Since 2004, Novotny has worked at West Dining Center, one of several dining facilities on the Oregon State University campus. She started as a temp, and in 2005 was hired full-time to work in the Clubhouse Deli, which provides soups, salads and sandwiches to students — namely residents of Sackett Hall, West International Housing and the Hawley/Buxton/Poling dormitory system directly across the street.

“First and foremost, I was just out looking for a job.” Novotny said.  “And then I got to know the kids, and I knew God had put me here for a purpose. I belong there.”

Prior to starting her job at West, Novotny made rounds of the greater Willamette Valley, attending high school in both Corvallis and Philomath, where she eventually met her husband. The two were temporary nomads of sorts until they ended up in Arizona, where Dave got a job with the Tucson Police Department. While he trained, she worked three jobs at once to help support their two daughters.

Now that their children have families of their own, she and Dave have settled in a Corvallis far different from the one she knew in 1965. But Novotny said she hasn’t had to look far to find “replacement kids.”

“These kids, the ones I work with, or used to and am still friends with, they keep me happy. They keep me young,” she said. “They are giving me a chance to show them about older people and what kind of sense [of humor] some of ushave.”

Those students seem to agree.

“She’s like my Oregon grandma,” said Jordan Guerrero, senior in sports science who worked with Novotny for years. “She’s definitely put a brighter spin on living in Oregon seeing as how it’s gloomy about nine months of the year.”

Swift hands, steady from years of training show horses and holding more jobs than most can count, fly across the food preparation counters everyday as she makes sure to greet her fellow co-workers, many of whom are students at OSU.

Jana Boyl, senior in apparel design, began working alongside Novotny at West Dining Center four years ago, which is when she got her first dose of the notorious humor of “Grandma Jayne.”

“Jayne has definitely acted as a mentor for me,” Boyl said. “I remember seeking her out at work after my first relationship ended. I couldn’t think of anyone better to talk to, because I knew that she would have something to say that would make me feel better. And I was right.”

Many echo this sentiment. In 2009, the RA staff members of the Hawley/Buxton/Poling residential hall units honored her with an award commending her for her invaluable service to the school and her warm attitude toward all students.

A face etched with laughter lines cringes at the mention of some of her “kids” graduating and leaving soon.

A matter-of-fact sense of humor often masks her awareness of the type of role she has played in the lives of the students.

“My favorite aspect of her personality is that she can point out the silver lining of any situation or event, while still being the one of the most down-to-earth women I’ve ever met,” Boyl said.

Novotny has seen two changes in management since she started at West, one of which she claims was lacking in a lot of direction and compassion for student-workers, a void which she chose to fill. ..

Read the full article by Drew Wilson-McGrath.


Now hiring: Community Relations Facilitators  March 11th, 2012

Community Relations Facilitators assist University Housing & Dining Services’ Multicultural Resource Coordinator in working with staff members and residents in a variety of tasks specifically related to social justice education and cultural development.

There will be four Community Relations Facilitators for the 2012-13 academic year. Each student will work an average of 15 – 19 hours each week. This position requires independent work as well as collaborative relationships with three other CRFs as well as a variety of student and professional staff from Residential Education (UHDS), cultural and resource centers, and other campus partners.

The major duties of this position will likely include serving as an ambassador of UHDS to outreach to various campus partners, helping build collaborative relationships between UHDS residents and student staff, and campus partners engaged in social justice education and cultural development, developing and facilitating educational workshops for residence hall audiences, developing and executing large scale events, and contributing to a social justice focused blog.

Compensation for the Community Relations Facilitators is a place to live on campus (UHDS double room as a single), premium meal plan and $300 per term stipend.

Please contact UHDS Multicultural Resource Coordinator Teresita Alvarez with questions about the application.


Bills Approve New OSU Residence Hall, Student Center  March 8th, 2012

[KEZI9] — Before the special session adjourned Monday night, lawmakers passed a set of bills that approved millions of dollars to help fund new buildings at Oregon State University.

OSU administrators say the funds will go toward building a Student Experience Center, remodeling the east wing of the Memorial Union, and building a new residence hall.

Lawmakers put those projects on hold in 2011 due to concerns about the additional state debt.

Administrators say that didn’t stop students, Oregon University System leaders and OSU’s president from pleading for the projects — especially the new 270-bed residence hall, which will help take care of the lack of housing problem for students in Corvallis.

“This will help by enabling us to house more students on campus here at OSU and contribute to their success as well.  We’ve found that students that live on campus, it’s a great way to get connected and enhance their academic success,” said OSU Housing & Dining Director Tom Scheuermann.

The new 5-story residence hall suites on the east side of campus could open as early as Fall 2014, and will be available to all OSU students.

A classroom building construction project was also put on hold at the end of the last session in June, OSU plans to pitch that project during next year’s legislative session.

Watch the video and see the original story by KEZI’s Heather Turner.


Lawmakers OK new OSU construction  March 8th, 2012

Approved building bonds put new student center, residence hall back on track

[Corvallis Gazette-Times, March 7, 2012] — Oregon State University will receive funds to build the Student Experience Center and a residence hall, after all.

Lawmakers passed a set of bills at the end of the Legislature’s short interim session, which adjourned Monday night. They approved millions of dollars in IX-F bonds for the new student center, a remodel of the Memorial Union’s east wing and a 270-bed residence hall.

Student fees will pay back the $47.2 million student center and $9.18 million renovation. Room and board fees will cover the $29 million residence hall.

Lawmakers put the projects on hold after the end of the last legislative session in June over concerns about the state’s ability to carry additional debt. OSU President Ed Ray, students and Oregon University System officials testified on behalf of the projects in front of the Legislature’s Joint Ways and Means Committee in November.

Another OSU construction project — a classroom building — was also put on hold at the end of the last session, but the university plans to pitch the project during next year’s legislative session.

The news of the projects’ approval was great news for the university, especially for student groups involved in the student center project.

“They saw the need early on and worked to make this project come to life,” said Tiffany Perkins, an OSU senior who co-chaired the student committee that helped the project pass an initial student vote.

Students voted in May 2010 to pay $48 a term beginning last fall to pay off the bond. With funding secured, students will be charged the fee beginning spring term, and construction will begin January 2013, said Michael Henthorne, the director of the MU.

The new building will replace Snell Hall, built in 1959 as housing to accommodate the enrollment booms of the post-World War II and Korean War era. It now houses various student organizations and offices but it has numerous major structural deficits.

See the original article by Gazette-Times reporter Gail Cole.

 


Leadership in Social Change to award $5,000 summer internships  February 29th, 2012

The Leadership in Social Change Award provides $5,000 for a summer internship in an organization that works for social justice.

If you are a sophomore, junior, or senior in the College of Liberal Arts, College of Science, or College of Education who is interested in issues of equity, justice, and social change, this award will support a summer internship that will allow you to gain valuable experience working in a social change organization. Your internship must involve some form of active work for social change—advocacy, public policy analysis, worker organization, community development, education for social action.

Application deadline is April 1, 2012.

———————————————————-

Your application consists of five parts:

1)    a complete application form and answers to the questions listed below,

2)    an unofficial copy of your current transcript,

3)    description of the nonprofit organization(s) and internship job descriptions under consideration,

4)    your resume, and

5)    three academic references (name, phone, and email).
Name:

Student ID number:

Address:

Phone:

Email:

Major(s):

Class Standing:

Minor(s):

Previous volunteer involvement including date, organization, and job title:

 

Please answer the following questions (on a separate paper) and attach your answers to the application form. The combined responses should not exceed two single-spaced pages (i.e. ½ page per question, or approximately 300 words.)

 

1)    What are your ideals for humanity or for an ideal society? What have you already done to contribute to this ideal? What would you like to change in this world?

 

2)    How would this internship support your educational, career and life goals?

 

3)    List three learning objectives (skills and knowledge you expect to learn) from your internship.

 

4)    How do you see yourself influencing individuals, groups, organizations, or institutions after you complete this internship?

 

Please return your completed application to:

Karen Mills
School of Language, Culture, and Society
Waldo 236
kmills@oregonstate.edu

For more information, contact:

Dr. Susan Shaw
Transitional Director
School of Language, Culture, and Society
Waldo 234
541-737-3082
sshaw@oregonstate.edu