HIGHLIGHTS

UAlbany Home to Northeast On-line Campaign Against Substance Abuse
    For the millions of individuals and their families affected by substance use disorders, and the professionals who treat them, the Northeastern States Addiction Technology Transfer Center (NSATTC), managed by the University's Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, is now part of a national campaign promoting Internet access for every addiction treatment and prevention agency in the nation by Jan. 1, 2001.
    The ONLINE/ONTIME campaign is an effort spearheaded by the National ATTC Network, a consortium of 13 centers serving 39 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The network is an initiative funded by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.
    NSATTC serves the northeastern states of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, supplying information and resources on research, education, and best practices in the substance abuse field, available online at http://www.online2001.org/. Topics include: the importance of on-line access; necessary equipment, including specifications and sources for hardware and software; costs and strategies for covering resource needs; and what to do once the organization gets online.
For further information about NSATTC products and services, the UAlbany number is (518) 442-5702, and its e-mail address is nsattc@pdp.albany.edu.

Senate Councils and Committees Seeking Participants
    The University Senate has issued a request for faculty and staff to participate on senate councils and committees during the 2000-’01 academic year. Next year the senate will be dealing with several major issues, including the implementation and assessment of the recent changes in the general education curriculum; institutional responses to recommendations of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Universities following the visit in March 2000; and the continued movement toward strategic goals outlined in Charting the Future, the University's strategic plan. The councils and standing committees, which do the primary work of the senate, are made up mostly of members of the University community who are not senators. The councils and committees are designed to provide faculty and staff from units across the University a voice in the enactment of University policies and regulations, and so widespread participation is needed to ensure that they serve this purpose. The request being distributed includes descriptions of the various senate councils, including lists of their current standing committees, with a form on which to indicate preferences for council or committee activity. The forms are due at the senate office (AD 259) as soon as possible, but no later than Friday, March 24. Questions may be directed to David McCaffrey, the 2000-’01 University Senate chair, through the senate office (AD 259, 442-5406).
    In other news, the University Senate Executive Committee meeting will be Monday, March 13, at 3:30 p.m. in AD 253. Nominations for the 2000-’01 University Senate Chair Elect and Secretary will be discussed. For more information contact Madelyn Cicero at 442-5406. 

January 27 Blood Drive Most Successful Yet
    The January 27 blood drive in the Campus Center, organized by Pi Kappa Alpha and the College Republicans, resulted in the highest collection yet at a University at Albany blood drive during the current academic year. The drive collected 126 donations for area patients.
    “The University's contribution to the community could ultimately help save the lives of up to 378 patients, since each blood donation can help as many as three patients,” wrote Red Cross representative Anne Santino in a recent letter to David Wapner of Pi Kappa Alpha and Lee Zeldin of the College Republicans.
    “The American Red Cross would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge you and the blood donors at the University at Albany, each of whom helped make the blood drive's success happen,” Santino wrote.

Nonprofit Education Initiative at the Center for Women in Government
    The Nonprofit Education Initiative (NEI) at the Center for Women in Government is sponsoring a series of five seminars on “Exploring the World of Information Technology from the Nonprofit Perspective: Possibilities, Needs and Visions.”
    The monthly seminars will be at the Rockefeller Institute of Government beginning today, February 17, and will be held March 16, April 20, May 18 and June 8 from 1 to 4 p.m. Cost to attend the series is $150. 
    Discussion will be lead by UAlbany's Professor Terrence A. Maxwell, director of the New York State Forum for Information Resource Management at the Rockefeller Institute. In the first seminar participants will choose topics for the remaining sessions. Possible seminar topics include: What the Internet has to offer to nonprofits; Web page design basics; essential skills for effective database management; computer network systems; security issues and knowledge management. For scholarships for nonprofit staff and students, and other registration information, contact Joanna Peterson at 442-3887.
     Later this semester, NEI will sponsor a lecture May 18 at the Alumni House, featuring William P. Ryan, a Cambridge-based consultant to nonprofit organizations and foundations and a Fellow at the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organization at Harvard University. His work focuses on community development and nonprofit organizational capacity. The topic of his lecture will be “The Rise of for-Profit Social Service Providers: Issues and Implications.”