August 21, 2003

Vol. 14, No. 7

The "8 1/2 x 11 News" is published each week by the Department of Public Relations. News of campus interest should be sent to
Ed Delaney, 412-268-1609 (ed47@andrew.cmu.edu) or Bruce Gerson, 412-268-1613 (bg02@andrew.cmu.edu). The newsletter is available on the official.cmu-news and cmu.misc.news bulletin boards.

2001 Editions are available online.

2002 Editions are available online.

Previous editions are available online.

President Jared L. Cohon welcomed first-year students and their families to campus on Tuesday, Aug. 19. "Your class is very diverse, in many, many ways, in your interests, in your ethnic and geographical backgrounds," he told the Class of 2007. "You are remarkably well-qualified, you are very, very smart—all of you—and you're good enough to have been admitted to Carnegie Mellon, which is quite an achievement. And I congratulate you. You join a wonderful tradition of excellence and achievement."

—This year's first-year class of 1,367 students (533 women and 834 men) is one of the most diverse in university history. Included in the Class of 2007 are 73 African Americans, 90 Hispanics, 10 Native Americans and 228 international students. The class represents 32 foreign countries, 49 states, the District of Columbia and two territories (Guam and Puerto Rico). The only state not represented is Montana. Students from Pennsylvania represent 19% of this year's class. The average overall SAT score of this year's freshmen is 1,350 (650 verbal, 700 math) and the average grade point average is 3.6. On average, this year's first-year students graduated in the top 6% of their high school class.

WEST COAST CAMPUS CELEBRATES FIRST COMMENCEMENT

Carnegie Mellon's West Coast Campus in Silicon Valley will hold its first commencement ceremony on Friday, Aug. 29, in Building 17 at the NASA Ames Research Park at Moffett Field, Calif. Seventeen students will receive master's degrees in software engineering, e-business technology and the learning sciences.

—All programs offered at the West Coast Campus involve in-depth projects that students complete in teams. This collaborative approach has been one of the defining characteristics of the West Coast Campus since its founding in Sept. 2002, and has been touted by students as one of the program's most beneficial aspects.

—During this past semester, students completed several real-world projects, working with organizations like SAP Corporate Research Center, NASA and Patroline Air Service.

—"The projects I completed in Carnegie Mellon's e-business program have had a direct effect on what I've been doing for Patroline," said e-business student Erick Tai. "This is what's so different about Carnegie Mellon's West Coast Campus, and this is what makes this project-based learning so much more fulfilling than the traditional classes that we are used to."

NEW RECREATION FACILITY, DINING AREA OPEN IN UNIVERSITY CENTER

A new recreation facility called Scotland Yard and a new eatery, Andy's, are now open in the lower level of the University Center (UC). Both facilities are open daily from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.

— Andy's menu addresses the need for healthy dining options on campus, and consists of wraps, fresh fruit smoothies, coffee drinks and various grab-and-go items. It also features a dining area with a flat screen television. Scotland Yard offers recreational facilities to the entire campus community, including ping-pong, foosball, pool, and video games. The area also includes a state-of-the-art jukebox.

—The grand opening of the new lower level is scheduled for noon, Aug. 29 and will coincide with the annual anniversary celebration of the UC.

CARNEGIE MELLON WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION HOSTS FALL RECEPTION

Honorary Women's Association President Maureen Cohon will host the annual Fall Member Reception from 4:30 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at the president's residence. Please RSVP to Gloria Claus at gc2v@andrew.cmu.edu by Monday, Sept. 8. The association welcomes women in the Carnegie Mellon community who are faculty, staff, trustees and wives or partners of all Carnegie Mellon faculty, staff and trustees. Membership dues of $5 per year go toward cash scholarships for several graduating senior women. Visit www.cmu.edu/CMWA for details.

PARKING PERMIT DISTRIBUTION STARTS MONDAY

Parking Services has begun distributing parking permits for the 2003 - 2004 school year that will go into effect Tuesday, Sept. 2. Permit holders using payroll deduction or reduction will receive their permits (and gate cards, if applicable) this month via U.S. mail. Permit holders using another payment method can pick up their permits from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., August 25 - 27 in the UC's Merson Courtyard. Permit holders must present a valid Carnegie Mellon ID when picking up their permit. Faculty and staff members may opt for payroll deduction/reduction when picking up their permits, but all other permit recipients must pay for the permit in full. Parking Services accepts CampusXpress, MasterCard, Visa, cash and checks (with a valid ID). In addition to the permit fee, a $15 deposit will be charged for a new gate card unless the permit holder can provide last year's card for exchange.

2004 ENTERTAINMENT BOOKS NOW AVAILABLE

Staff Council is selling 2004 Entertainment Books as a service to the campus community. The Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh East editions offer valuable coupons for savings at restaurants, movies, sporting events and attractions in Pittsburgh and the eastern suburbs (including Greensburg). Books are $20 each and can be purchased by cash or check.

—Pittsburgh editions are available from Staff Council representatives Patty Porter, GSIA 254, 8-3705, pp9h@andrew.cmu.edu; Renee Snyder, Hamburg Hall 1107, 8-6060, rn32@andrew.cmu.edu; Karyn Carpenter, Whitfield Hall 303, 8-4747, kc+@andrew.cmu.edu; Jackie Cushion, Alumni House 2nd floor, 8-2019, jackie@andrew.cmu.edu; Char Turney, Warner Hall 201,
8-1906, et0x@andrew.cmu.edu; Mary Martin, E&S Library, Wean Hall,
8-2426, memartin@andrew.cmu.edu; and Kathy Bossick, Mellon Institute Library, 8-3172, bossick@andrew.cmu.edu.

—Pittsburgh East editions are available from Jackie Cushion (see above); Barb Price, GSIA 12B, 8-3688, bp0a@andrew.cmu.edu; and Bea Mitchell, Whitfield Hall 309, 8-4747, beamitchell@cmu.edu.

NEWS BRIEFS

President Cohon's annual Address to Staff will be held at noon, Wednesday, Oct. 8, in the University Center's McConomy Auditorium. Refreshments will be provided. Email questions for President Cohon to sc-presaddress@andrew.cmu.edu. Your questions will be grouped with those submitted in writing and sent to President Cohon anonymously. Please submit questions by Monday, Sept. 8.

Performers for the Chinese Opera Theater will present two programs, Sept.
9 - 10, at the Philip Chosky Theater in the Purnell Center for the Arts. "Monkey King" will be performed on Sept. 9 and "Farewell My Concubine" and "Golden Falcon will be performed on Sept. 10. Each production will feature elaborate costumes, spectacular dance and martial arts. The performances are co-sponsored by the School of Drama and the Asian Studies Center/University Center for International Studies at the University of Pittsburgh. General admission is $24; students are $10. Tickets can be purchased by calling the School of Drama box office at 412-268-2407.

PERSONAL MENTION

Electrical and Computer Engineering Associate Professor Babak Falsafi has been awarded a 2003 IBM Faculty Partnership Award by the Austin Center for Advanced Studies. Falsafi's research focuses on a new vision for processor designs in future CMOS technologies, in which the processor exploits repetitive instruction execution and extracts program dataflow information to eliminate unnecessary switching in transistors and minimize power.

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

Aug. 25: Classes begin for the fall semester. Sept. 29: Andy Awards ceremony, noon, McConomy Auditorium, UC. A reception follows in Rangos Hall.

-Back to the top-