Carnegie Mellon University

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CMU Community News

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August 04, 2011

News Briefs

  • The Apollo Group, Inc. recently announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire CMU spin-off Carnegie Learning, Inc., a publisher of research-based math curricula including the adaptive Cognitive Tutor® math software, for $75 million. In a separate transaction, Apollo also announced it would acquire related technology from Carnegie Mellon for $21.5 million, payable over a 10-year period. For more: http://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2011/august/aug3_carnegielearning.html
  • Teams from the United States and Russia took top honors at the Ninth International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL) at Carnegie Mellon. In individual competition, students from the U.S., Russia and Estonia each took home gold medals. For more: http://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2011/august/aug1_linguisticsolympiad.html
  • Facilities Management Services (FMS) is looking for your feedback about a proposal to move trash and recycling dumpsters from 407 S. Craig to behind the GATF building at 4615 Forbes Ave. to accommodate neighbor concerns. Please contact Kyle Tomer, associate director for client services, at kt2n@andrew.cmu.edu or 412-268-6332 for more information or to submit comments.
  • SpaceQuest, the web-based room reservation application system for University Registrar classrooms, University Center rooms and rooms in the Tepper School of Business, has been upgraded and is now driven by CollegeNET's 25Live software. To access rooms on the site, go to https://25live.collegenet.com/cmu with a valid Andrew ID and password. For best performance using SpaceQuest 25Live, use either the Mozilla Firefox, GoogleChrome or Safari (on Apple products) Web browsers. For more information, go to http://www.cmu.edu/hub/spacequest.html  
  • The Center for International Relations and Politics (CIRP), directed by Kiron K. Skinner, has launched a new website. New features include detailed information on the center's research programs, profiles on the more than 30 affiliated faculty members from across campus and an events calendar. Check it out at http://www.cmu.edu/ir.
  • The lap pool, swimming pool and men's and women's shower rooms in the University Center will be closed Friday through Sunday, Aug. 5-7, for repairs. Shower facilities in Skibo Gym will be open.
  • Carnegie Mellon is a sponsor of the 2011 American Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) Conference, Oct. 9-12 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh. The theme of this year's conference is "Creating Sustainable Communities and Campuses" with keynote speakers Bill McKibben, author of a dozen books on the environment and "the best green journalist," according to Time magazine, and Wngari Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement and a visiting fellow at Yale University's Global Institute for Sustainable Forestry. In conjunction with the conference the AASHE Student Summit, featuring McKibben and sustainability experts on greening campus communities, will be held Oct. 9. The Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education and Research (SEER) is offering to reimburse students who wish to attend the conference and summit. SEER will pay $150 of the $200 conference registration fee and $20 of the $30 summit registration fee. Students planning to attend the full conference or the Student Summit should register online and pay the registration fees. To receive reimbursement, send the registration receipt via your CMU email account to Erika Ninos at elninos@cmu.edu. Read more about the conference and summit at http://conf2011.aashe.org/
  • In accordance with a city ordinance, occupants of Mellon Institute will participate in a building evacuation drill during the afternoon of Thursday, Aug. 11. Occupants will be alerted when to evacuate via the emergency radios that are located throughout the building. Once alerted, occupants should evacuate immediately and report to the Software Engineering Institute cafeteria. Occupants should bring their CMU ID to confirm their participation in the drill.  For more information, go to http://www.cmu.edu/alert/
  • Staff Council has once again teamed up with the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival to offer the university 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.
  • The lower Forbes Avenue exit at the Morewood Parking Lot will be closed through Aug. 8 due to construction activities. The closure will extend to the adjacent sidewalk on the north side of Forbes Avenue from the crosswalk in front of Hamburg Hall to South Craig Street. Work at the parking lot exit includes replacing the exit apron asphalt with concrete and replacement of the loop detectors for the traffic light and parking gate arms. The exit lanes also will be widened and the sidewalk will be modified for a handicap ramp. If you have any questions, please call Kyle Tomer at 412-268-6332 or e-mail kt2n@andrew.cmu.edu.
  • The fifth floor entrance to the Gates Hillman centers is closed for approximately two weeks to repair the walkway pavers. Access from the Gates parking garage, Forbes Avenue, third floor and the Randy Pausch Bridge are available. If you have any questions, contact Lenny Libbon, 412-268-6148 or e-mail ll1r@andrew.cmu.edu.