Pie Day, 2009—The Foundations of Excellence report came out today, outlining recommendations for improving the first-year experience at UW Tacoma. In case you haven't had a chance to read all 226 pages in your spare time, here's a summary from the document:

Enhancing the success of first year students at UWT is critically dependent upon these five imperatives:

• We must improve communication across campus to support first year student success.

• We must increase accountability of ourselves, our governance and procedural systems, our instruction, and course content to support first year student success.

• We must increase our commitment to first year students and our first year programs.

• We must enhance the first year curriculum to support student success.

• We must enhance the first year co-curriculum to support student success.

Read the entire document here (PDF).

Pie Day, 2009—A friendly reminder from Inside Track: Don’t come to work tomorrow or Friday. A number of campus offices have announced closures and special hours for the holiday, including:

• The Bookstore closes at 3 p.m. today. They are closed tomorrow but open regular hours (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) Friday and Saturday.
• Computer labs in WG 108 and CP 005 will be open regular hours today, but closed Thursday and Friday.
• Enrollment Services is closing at 5 p.m. today.
• The Library will be open until 10 p.m. today and closed Thursday and Friday. This weekend, they’re open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
• West Coast Grocery closes at 5 p.m. today and will be closed until Monday.

Don’t forget that the UW Tacoma campus will remain open until 5 p.m. today, and all units are expected to provide office coverage until that time. If that means you’ll be alone in your office this afternoon, notify Campus Security at 2-4888, or let someone else in your building know.

Pie Day, 2009—Exit 133 is reporting that the Port of Tacoma will be using explosives this morning down on the tideflats. So if you hear any loud booming noises from that direction, don't be alarmed. If you hear any loud booming noises from any other direction, of course, you are free to be alarmed.

Pie Day, 2009—The Gentle Grammarian loves to find obscure reference books from which to pull life’s little grammar lessons. Among the more esoteric tomes in G.G.’s collection are the Prentice Hall Grammar and Composition, Level 2, found at a garage sale and previously used at the Marcus Whitman Jr. High from 1988 to 1991 by Diane, Darrel, Dawn, Missy, Shannon and Donnie, none of whom seem to have used it much because it’s in tip-top condition.

Alongside the no-hanky-panky textbooks on G.G.’s shelves are some funny, enjoyable books that make learning about our mother tongue easier to swallow. (G.G. cannot resist a pun.) And so, with apologies to Carole Svensson (Library) and her “Book Dirt” column, venture on to read about G.G.’s favorite reference books, highly recommended for your seasonal wish list.

Nov. 24, 2009—If you haven't gotten your seasonal flu shot yet, drop by UW Tacoma's flu shot clinic next Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the GWP third-floor terrace. Seasonal flu shots are free if you're covered by UW-paid health insurance, $30 if you're not. This will not protect you against H1N1 (Swine) Flu; we'll post news about the Swine Flu clinic as soon as it's announced.

Speaking of flu, last week we got a copy of a very handy chart which compares typical symptoms of a cold, seasonal flu and H1N1. Remember, Inside Track isn't your doctor, so please use this chart only as a reference, not as a diagnostic tool.

Nov. 24, 2009— Washington now has its own chapter of a national professional organization for higher-education human resources workers, and a UW Tacoma staff member played a role in getting it started. Shelby Fritz (Academic Affairs) helped establish the new Washington chapter of College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) and was elected secretary of the organization’s board at its first meeting earlier this month at UW Tacoma. Chancellor Pat Spakes delivered the keynote address at the meeting. Previously, Fritz says, higher-ed human resources professionals interacted with the national organization for professional development and networking. “This will allow us to have our own chapter and our own annual meeting,” she says. The Washington chapter doesn’t have a website yet; learn more at the national CUPA-HR website or contact Shelby for more information.

Nov. 24, 2009—Pie day is almost here, and at Inside Track, we're pretty excited. What could be better than a table loaded with delectable pastry, lovingly handmade by the faculty and enjoyed by all? And when it falls on the day before a four-day weekend, it's pure heaven. So mark your calendars, if you haven't already: Tomorrow, noon to 2 p.m., GWP third-floor terrace. I advise starting your pre-pie fast at about 4 p.m. today.

For those who can hardly stand the wait, here's a little something to whet your appetite: Since 2005, we've been collecting the winning recipes for Inside Track. For the first time ever, we've compiled all of them into a Pie Day cookbook (PDF). Print it out and wow your friends and family with a fantastic UW Tacoma pie this week.

Nov. 24, 2009—Congratulations to Terri Simonsen (Social Work), the winner of this week's Monday Mystery contest. She was the first to identify the correct location of this photo: This gate stands open at the top of the stairs down to the Pacific Avenue level in Cherry Parkes. Although it looks decorative, the gate serves an important purpose: It swings shut during a fire alarm to prevent people from going down the stairs.

Terri wins a $5 gift card. Come back for another Monday Mystery next week!

Nov. 23, 2009—New publications, awards and presentations from faculty and staff in Social Work, the Milgard School of Business and the Center for Leadership and Social Responsibility.

Nov. 23, 2009—Time for another Monday Mystery! Do you know where this is? See the picture at full size.

The first person to email us with the correct location wins a $5 gift card. We'll reveal the winner in Inside Track tomorrow.

Don't forget that we've established a new rule: Previous Monday Mystery winners (you know who you are) can't win the contest again for three months. The rest of you can guess to your heart's content.