CU News
News from the University of Colorado in Boulder.
CU-Boulder Experts on Middle East; Feb. 16 Faculty Panel Discussion on Egypt
Feb 10th
–Haytham Bahoora, assistant professor of Arabic studies in the Asian languages and civilizations department, can address current social and political issues contributing to the protests and civil unrest in Egypt and Yemen. Bahoora lived and studied in Cairo and also can comment on modern social and political movements in the Arab world, political Islam and Arab nationalism. He is best reached by e-mail at haytham.bahoora@colorado.edu.
–Nabil Echchaibi, assistant professor of journalism and media studies, can address religious aspects of the events in Egypt as well as correlations with Iran. Echchaibi is the associate director of the Center for Media, Religion and Culture and his research has included identity, religion and the role of media in shaping and reflecting modern religious perspectives among Muslims in the Middle East. He is best reached by e-mail at nabil.echchaibi@colorado.edu. He also can be reached at 303-492-8246.
–Najeeb Jan, instructor of geography, can address issues relating to the broad relationship between the United States and democracy in the Muslim world. Jan, who is part Pakistani, spent several years attending school in that country and has relatives and friends living there. He currently is researching “political Islam” in Pakistan and has interviewed clerics, students and members of the military for a book he is writing called “The Meta-colonial State: Pakistan and the Crisis of Power.” Jan can be reached by calling 303-492-2860 or by e-mail at najeeb.jan@colorado.edu.
–John M. Willis, assistant professor of history, can address the history and politics of the modern Middle East, including topics such as imperialism, modern Islamic thought and nationalist movements. His research addresses the history of empire and the rise of Islamic reformist movements in the Middle East and the Indian Ocean. He is best reached by e-mail at john.willis@colorado.edu.
On Wednesday, Feb. 16, all four CU-Boulder professors listed above will participate in a panel discussion titled “The Revolution in Egypt: Causes and Consequences” at 7 p.m. in Eaton Humanities Building room 1B50. The event is free and open to the public. The forum is sponsored by the CU Faculty Federation; the CU Peace and Conflict Studies Program; the Center for the Study of Conflict, Collaboration and Creative Governance; the Political Economy Group of the sociology department; and the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center. For more information contact retired sociology Professor Thomas Mayer at 303-442-5311.
City to remove emergency call boxes from the Hill due to lack of legitimate use
Feb 4th
City of Boulder crews will be removing five emergency call boxes from University Hill within the next two weeks after determining that they have not been used to summon police to a legitimate crime in at least two years.
The call boxes, also known as “blue phones,” have instead become a source of frequent pranks. In 2009 and 2010, police received 351 calls from the blue phones – all of which turned out to be false. In each case, police responded, diverting them from other responsibilities and actual calls for help.
The city has been providing the blue phone service since 2002, and at that time, the equipment served an important safety purpose. Today, however, with the prevalence of cell phones, the police department believes they are no longer needed. Emergency calls for service from that area universally come from cell phones and landlines. In addition, the phones are starting to break and would require costly repair or replacement.
“We remain committed to providing prompt and effective public safety service to University Hill and all other areas of the city. That is our number one priority,” said Police Chief Mark Beckner. “While these phones helped the community feel safer when cell phones were not as prevalent, their value and purpose has diminished with the changing times.”
The phones that will be removed are located at:
1202 Pleasant St.
12th Street/Pennsylvania Avenue
13th Street/Euclid Avenue
12th Street/College Avenue
1000 block of 14th Street
The city has met with both university officials and representatives of CU Student Government, and all are in agreement that the phones on the Hill have outlasted their intended purpose. Any money saved from keeping this equipment operational will be put back into the Hill maintenance fund.
JOB PROSPECTS LOOKING UP FOR SPRING GRADS, SAYS CU-BOULDER CAREER SERVICES DIRECTOR
Jan 26th
Job postings and career fair visits by recruiters seeking to hire University of Colorado Boulder graduates in the spring are coming in fast this year, suggesting an improving job market for spring graduates, according to Lisa Severy, director of CU-Boulder’s Career Services office.
“The fact that our career fair is completely sold out and our job postings are also way up tells me that the job market is picking up for this year’s graduates,” Severy said.
The most common major sought by companies looking to hire CU-Boulder graduates this spring is the “all majors” category.
“In other words, companies are looking for talented, educated and motivated leaders from any academic discipline or background,” Severy said. “The companies recruiting our graduates represent a variety of industries and range from small to large organizations.”
The spring career and internship fair for CU-Boulder students and alumni will be held Jan. 26-27 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the University Memorial Center’s Glenn Miller Ballroom and room 235. The fair is open only to CU-Boulder students and alumni.
Some of the companies attending the fair include Facebook, Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Apple Inc., the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Peace Corps, Rocky Mountain Youth Corps and Time Warner Cable.
Nationally, the job market for new graduates also shows signs of improving, according to the “Recruiting Trends 2010-2011” survey published by Michigan State University. The survey calls for hiring at the bachelor’s degree level to increase by 10 percent this year.
“The new college graduate market tends to bounce back first because these candidates come at a lower price point and they don’t have to be retrained like those who may be coming from a different company’s culture,” Severy said.
While the job market is showing some positive signs, Severy said students should not wait until the end of the school year to start their job searches.
“Students who will graduate this May should engage the job search process sooner rather than later,” she said. “A career fair is a good place to start, because you get a chance to talk to recruiters face to face and make an impression. At the very least it is good practice for the interviewing process.”
Companies often come to career fairs to find a pool of potential employees and screen them for campus interviews at a later date. Then, if they really like a candidate, they invite them out for an interview at the company location. While every conversation at a career fair does not lead to an interview, students who are job hunting should take advantage of the opportunity to get themselves in front of companies that are hiring.
“Meeting a company representative at a career fair, where they are there specifically to meet potential employees, is a good way to get a foot in the door,” Severy said. “I tell every student I can that they should really take advantage of these opportunities, because these companies have a real interest in CU students.”
For more information about the spring career and internship fair visit http://careerservices.colorado.edu/students/springFair.aspx.
