UVI 2019 Fall Semester Orientation Set for Aug. 13-18 The University of the Virgin Islands will welcome new and transfer students with a week of orientation activities beginning Tuesday, Aug. 13, on both the Albert A. Sheen Campus on St. Croix and the St. Thomas Campus. Orientation activities will kick-off with residence hall check-in. All newly accepted students are required to participate in orientation activities prior to the start of the semester.
“We are delighted to welcome new and transfer students to the University as they begin an amazing journey of learning and exploration,” said Verna Rivers, dean of students on the St. Thomas Campus. “I urge students to open their minds and hearts to new experiences and to take advantage of the service learning, leadership and other engagement opportunities that will fuel their passion, clear sense of purpose and their capacity to become agents of change.”
“I am excited about new student orientation, and always look forward to meeting every student,” said Hedda Finch Simpson, dean of students on the Sheen Campus. “I would like to communicate to all the new incoming students that we are elated and ready to orient you into our “UVI Buccaneer family.”
“New Student Orientation Week is an exciting time for our University. It allows our UVI community to showcase the vast opportunities offered and services provided. Our goal is not to primarily serve our incoming students but to truly amaze them,” Finch-Simpson said. “Each year, we tinker with our programming to ensure that it’s in alignment with a holistic first-year student experience that is informational and memorable. We are genuinely committed to immersing every new student in our UVI Buccaneer Family’s pride and tradition,” she added.
More information is available in a news release on the Media Section of the UVI website http://www.uvi.edu/
Bookstore Hours on the Albert A. Sheen Campus Extended The Albert A. Sheen Campus Bookstore announces back to school extended hours for fall 2019.
• Monday, Aug. 19 to Thursday, Aug. 23 – 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Monday, Aug 26 to Thursday, Aug 29 – 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Friday, Aug. 23 and Aug. 30 – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Bookstore now has Keurig single serve coffee and tea all day for your convenience.
The management and staff appreciate your support, understanding and your patronage.
For additional information, contact Shay Roberts at 692-4162 or e-mail shanta.roberts@uvi.edu.
SPA 235 – Spanish for Law Enforcement Course to be offered for Fall 2019 The Department of Modern Languages is offering a new course for the Fall of 2019. SPA-235 will be all about “Spanish for Law Enforcement.” This course will help students learn how to use a flexible, concise introduction to Spanish grammar and communication to better address and serve those in the law enforcement professions who seek basic conversational skills in Spanish.
Topics include: practical vocabulary, everyday on-the-job situations and culture notes (notas culturales) written from a cross-cultural perspective. It provides students with opportunities to apply, in a wide variety of practical contexts, the grammatical structures presented in the corresponding lessons of the VISTAS textbook.
For anyone interested in taking this course, it will be offered Tuesday and Thursday from 4-5:15 p.m. The class has as a prerequisite, SPA 132, and it will be offered on St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses using video teleconference.
For more information, contact Professor Mónica Oizumi at monica.oizumi@uvi.edu.
UVI to Appear at VI Legislative Budget Hearing on August 12 The University of the Virgin Islands annual legislative budget hearing before the Committee on Finance of the 33rd Legislature of the Virgin Islands, will take place on Monday, Aug. 12, at 9 a.m. at the Earle B. Ottley Legislative Hall on St. Thomas.
The public hearing can also be viewed at http://www.legvi.org.
State of the University Address Set for August 16 The University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) President David Hall will host the annual State of the University Address on Friday, Aug. 16, at 10-11 a.m. in the Administration and Conference Center Building, first floor, on the St. Thomas Campus and in the Great Hall on the Albert A. Sheen Campus on St. Croix.
The entire University Community is invited to come out and learn more about President Hall’s vision for the new academic year and receive important updates on the new strategic plan, “Greatness Through Innovation,” and other matters impacting the institution.
President Hall will begin the meeting with his prepared remarks followed by an open session for any questions from those in attendance.
The President’s State of the University Address will be followed by Provost McKayle’s Address to faculty members.
For more information, contact the Office of the President at 693-1000 or udyer@uvi.edu
Nominations Being Sought for Awarding of Honorary UVI Degrees The University of the Virgin Islands has established a policy regarding the awarding of honorary doctoral degrees to individuals who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments. Any member of the UVI administration, faculty, student body, or staff, or the Board of Trustees, may nominate a person to be the recipient of an honorary degree.
Nominations are currently being accepted in the Office of the President and should be submitted in writing via e-mail submission to: honorarydegrees@uvi.edu and must include:
1. A letter of nomination
2. Completed nomination form
3. Curriculum Vitae of the nominee
4. A document that clearly delineates distinguished achievements and the impact of those achievements, including supporting documents (i.e. scholarly documents, magazine articles, newspaper articles, citations for major prizes, etc.)
5. Other supporting documents as may be appropriate.
Please note: Supporting documentation is of critical importance.
A nomination form and the policy approved by the UVI Board of Trustees for awarding honorary doctoral degrees, including a full listing of the criteria.
Nominations will be accepted by e-mail until 11:59 p.m. (AST) on Sept.6, 2019 and for those submitting by hand or by U.S. Postal Service, until the close of business on that day.
For more information, email honorarydegrees@uvi.edu.
UVI Cybersecurity Workshop Prepares Students to Become Cyber Defenders For two weeks, future computer science professionals learned the skills they will need to be on the frontlines of cyber-based attacks. In a world where technology is quickly advancing before our very eyes, the risk of facing cyberattacks has drastically increased. Acknowledging this growing issue, the Computer Science Department at the University of the Virgin Islands, held a cybersecurity workshop, offered by guest lecturer Dr. Michel Kinsy of Boston University. In this workshop, students learned the intrinsic features of computer systems and the techniques that attackers use to send out cyberattacks to businesses or major corporations. As well as the defenses and practices, that can help to prevent cyberattacks from occurring. This workshop covered topics such as: return programming and vulnerabilities, assembly code and how to imbed malware into the assembly, and binary analysis.
Real world examples, such as the Virgin Islands Police Department being faced with a ransomware cyberattack, were brought into the discussion. Cyber attackers have blocked access to police files unless a ransom is paid. In addition to, Dr. Kinsy made mention of national cyberattacks and stated that 10 to 15 years from now, “Physical wars may be viewed as barbaric and 95 percent of attacks will be cyber related where rather than physically attacking another country or entity, you cripple their cyber infrastructure.” Being that cybersecurity is interdisciplinary, Dr. Kinsy stressed to students the importance of math courses, such as number theory, discrete mathematics and linear algebra. As well as how early exposure to cybersecurity “can help to highlight the core classes that form the fundamentals of cybersecurity.”
More information is available in a news release on the Media Section of the UVI website.
