News Briefs

• The sidewalk by the bus stop on Forbes Avenue adjacent to Walking to the Sky will be closed through Thursday, Aug. 18, when the summer-long steam line replacement project will be completed. Those dependent on the ramp at that location for accessibility to campus buildings should continue east on Forbes to the ramp near the University Center.
• SmartMoney and PayScale.com’s annual Return on Investment (ROI) study on college education finds recent Carnegie Mellon graduates earn more money per year than alumni of any other of the 50 “top-priced schools” in the survey. SmartMoney says, “Indeed, a number of the best-scoring schools in this category (Non-Ivy Private) — including Carnegie Mellon University, whose recent grads earn more per year than alums of any other college in our survey — have strong programs in business and the sciences.” Read more: http://bit.ly/o5ionp
• Carnegie Mellon is listed among The Princeton Review's Best 376 College and Best Northeastern Colleges. In specialty categories, the university ranked eighth for "Best College Theater," and 17th for "Students Study the Most." For more, see http://www.princetonreview.com/CarnegieMellonUniversity.aspx
• The distribution of 2011-12 parking permits for the Pittsburgh campus will take place: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Aug. 17 – 19, lower level, University Center near PNC Bank; and 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Aug. 21-23, Dithridge Street Garage lobby for those parking in the Dithridge Garage, 5th and Craig, Zebina Way, GATF, Henry Street and Whitfield. You must present your CMU ID to pick up your parking permit. Any permits not picked up by Aug. 31 will be cancelled and removed from the database. The Parking & Transportation Office in the UC will be closed during permit distribution. Visit https://parking.campusservices.cmu.edu/auth/permit.php to view your assignment for the 2011-2012 parking year.  Email questions to parking@andrew.cmu.edu or call 412-268-2052.
• The Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) Department received an Award of Merit in the annual Complete Safety Program competition, sponsored by The Campus Safety Health and Environmental Management Association. Schools from around the world were judged on their submissions, documenting their programs that assist with environmental and safety regulations. EH&S received the award at the national conference in July. Mark Banister, assistant director of EH&S, authored CMU’s entry in the competition. 
• Staff Council has once again teamed up with the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival to offer the campus community the opportunity to purchase discounted tickets to this year’s festival. Students, faculty, and staff can purchase adult tickets for $13.45 (a $3.50 savings) and children’s tickets for $7 (a $1 savings) through Sept. 23. Tickets can be ordered by fax, mail, or online at  http://www.pittsburghrenfest.com/groupdiscount.html. Festival dates are Aug. 20 – Sept. 25, weekends and Labor Day only. Visit the Staff Council website at http://www.cmu.edu/staff-council for more information.
• In anticipation of its 100th anniversary celebration in 2012, the School of Music is seeking stories and photographs that illuminate the history of the school. Submissions may be included in a special centennial publication. Submissions should be sent to Robert Fallon, assistant professor of musicology, at rfallon@cmu.edu or at CMU School of Music, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Include your name (then and now), year of graduation, title, or association with the School of Music, and your contact information for follow-up questions. The deadline is Nov. 1, 2011.
• Computing Services-operated clusters and the Virtual Andrew Pilot on the Pittsburgh campus will be unavailable until 7 a.m., Monday, Aug. 15, while updated software is being deployed. Web stations and Andrew printing stations will remain available during this period. Questions should be directed to the Computing Services Help Center at 412-268-HELP (4357) or advisor@andrew.cmu.edu.
• Conflict Kitchen recently opened its third iteration, La Cocina Arepas, a Venezuelan take-out restaurant that serves homemade arepas, grilled corncakes served to order with a variety of fresh fillings. Conflict Kitchen is a project by Jon Rubin and Dawn Weleski and is funded in part by the Sprout Fund, The Waffle Shop, and the Center for the Arts in Society. The restaurant, which features food from countries in conflict with the U.S., is at 124 S. Highland Ave, Pittsburgh, and is open daily from 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Previously, Conflict Kitchen has served food from Iran and Afghanistan.