Posted January 13, 1999

BFS Startup Postponed From January to March

In mid-December the Berkeley Administrative Initiatives (BAI) management team postponed implementation of the Purchasing and Accounts payable modules, originally scheduled for Jan. 4, for two months to ensure the stability and performance of the system.

"Additional work is needed to ensure that several pending PeopleSoft product fixes can be fully integrated and tested," Assistant Vice Chancellor-Financial and Business Services and Controller Alison McGill and Associate Vice Chancellor-IST Jack McCredie wrote in campus memo.

As originally planned, the central Procurement and Accounts Payable Departments and 15 pilot departments will be the first units to begin using the new system, followed by a second pilot group and then remaining departments.

Based on projected delivery dates from PeopleSoft, the system is expected to be ready for implementation by March 1. Training of departmental staff will continue as previously scheduled. All campus departments are still expected to begin using the new systems by the end of the fiscal year, June 30, 1999.

Information about the project, staff training and the new implementation schedule is available on the BAI web site at www.bai.berkeley.edu/bai/.

Campus Tours Offered

Visitor Services offers special campus tours for faculty and staff the second and fourth Wednesday of each month.

Tours leave the Campanile at 12:10 p.m. via motorized cart, and return by 12:50 p.m. A student tour guide provides transportation and a narrative concerning buildings in the central campus area.

To reserve a seat call 642-5215.

Hearst Field Closed for SAFER Surge Site

Hearst Field, just west of Hearst Gym, has been closed for construction of the first SAFER surge building -- temporary quarters for departments displaced by seismic upgrading projects.

The Temporary Surge Building will be a one-story, 35,000-square-foot, metal Butler building designed as four units around an interior courtyard, according to project manager Leslie Hoffelt.

Utility construction has started and foundation construction will begin by March for occupancy on Aug. 2.

The first occupants will be the College of Environmental Design and a lecture hall that will double as a theater for the Pacific Film Archive.

The compound has a five-year life span, says Hoffelt, with a possible short-term extension. She expects a turnover of building occupants every 12 to 18 months as they move back into their seismically retrofitted homes.

Bumped from Hearst Field are physical education and military affairs classes and marching band rehearsals. With North Field closed for maintenance until March 1, those activities are scrambling for space elsewhere.

Orders Now Being Accepted for Departmental Vehicles

Departments interested in purchasing new vehicles during the 1999 calendar year should contact Fleet Services to place their orders.

The deadline for placing orders through the state contract varies according to make and model; the majority of manufacturer's cut-off dates are in March. Those who miss the 1999 ordering window must wait until the next ordering window opens in January 2000.

The State of California requires that state agencies use its standard vehicle contract for their vehicle purchases. Campus departments must adhere to the contract and various ordering windows.

For information or copies of the contract, contact Eric Robinson at 643-6596 or ejr@uclink4.berkeley.edu.

Computer-Based Technology Training Available

Computer Based Training System's on-line tutorial courseware on a variety of topics related to information technology is now available to Berkeley faculty, staff and students. More than 300 different tutorials, on topics such as Microsoft Windows, Java scripting and programming in C++, can be accessed.

For information and detailed instructions, see the CBT website at http://tuna.berkeley.edu/cbt/.

Jan. 22: UCLA Actors Bring Commedia to Campus

Using the musical and acrobatic techniques of a 16th century comedic art form, a group of UCLA graduate student actors will perform "The Triumph of Isabella," Friday, Jan. 22 at 8 p.m. in Dwinelle Hall's Durham Studio Theater.

A production of the Master of Fine Arts Actor Training Program at UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television, "Triumph" is an original piece rooted in the tradition of the Italian commedia dell'arte of the 16th to18th centuries. Actors use music, circus techniques, acrobatics and comic routines in what is described as a "extraordinarily demanding" performance. The troupe will also conduct workshops on commedia technique.

The performance is sponsored by InterCampus Arts Program and the Center for Theater Arts. Admission is free. For information call 642-1677.

Education Abroad Accepting Directorship Applications

The University of California's Education Abroad Program is seeking UC faculty for directorships of its Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Melbourne, Australia programs. The deadline is Feb. 19.

The two-year appointments are for the academic years January 1, 2000 thorough Dec. 31, 2001. The director of the Brazil program will be resident from January through July of each year.

Directors must be tenured faculty members of the Academic Senate, lecturers with security of employment or emeriti professors. A study center director must have extensive knowledge of the host country, fluency in the language and a demonstrated interest in students and substantial administrative experience.

Applications are available at campus Education Abroad Program offices and through the university-wide EAP office.

Interested faculty may contact Kathleen Ranney by phone at (805) 893-3677/2748; fax at (805) 893-2583; or email at kranney@uoeap.ucsb.edu.

Jan. 23: Conference on Organizing Immigrant Workers

Strategies for organizing California's immigrant workers -- the fastest growing sector of the state's workforce -- is the subject of a gathering Saturday, Jan. 23 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in Oakland.

Union and non-union workers will discuss the successes and pitfalls of past and ongoing organizing campaigns involving immigrant workers. Workshops topics will include immigration policy and the right to organize.

The conference is sponsored by the Labor Immigrant Organizing Network (LION), formed at the initiative of the campus' Center for Labor Research and Education, is comprised of over 20 unions and community groups.

The gathering will be held at 99 Hegenberger Rd. Faculty, staff and students are welcome to attend. The $10 registration fee includes lunch and coffee. For information call 642-0323.

January 13 - 19, 1999 (Volume 27, Number 19)
Copyright 1999, The Regents of the University of California.
Produced and maintained by the Office of Public Affairs at UC Berkeley.
Comments? E-mail berkeleyan@pa.urel.berkeley.edu.