Reports to the College Senate are posted on the College Senate website. The most recent reports are from the February 9, 2018, Senate meeting.

Podcasts are now the official audio record of each College Senate meeting. If you missed a Senate meeting and want to catch up, podcasts are posted to the Senate's podcasts web page. Senate meeting summaries are also posted to the website after they are presented to the Senate.

From the Chair of the College Senate
The next College Senate meeting of the spring 2018 semester will be held at 3:00 p.m. Friday, March 9, in Butler Library 210. Amy McMillan, interim director of the honors program, will give a report on the Honors Program.

Senate meetings are recorded and posted as podcasts on the College Senate website. Please visit the website to catch up on past Senate news, listen to podcasts of past meetings, or review meeting summaries. The schedule (PDF, 46 KB) of all upcoming College Senate meeting dates is also posted.

The College Senate Office is located in Cleveland Hall 211. Howard Reid, professor of psychology, is chair of the College Senate for the 2017–2018 academic year. Please stop by the office, call 878-5139, or e-mail Vincent Masci, assistant to the College Senate, with questions or for general information.

From the Chair of the College Senate Bylaws and Elections Committee
Three at-large College Senate positions will become vacant on August 31, 2018. Two seats are reserved for academics only, and one seat is open to academics and professionals. At-large senators represent the entirety of the college. All full-time faculty and professional staff members (PSC) are eligible to seek the position provided they meet other eligibility requirements (see below).

A call for nominations and information about candidates’ statements can be found on the College Senate website. The call for nominations for all positions begins at 12:01 a.m. Monday, April 16, and continues through 5:00 p.m. Friday, April 20. Elections for these positions will run from 12:01 a.m. Monday, April 23, to 11:59 p.m. Friday, April 27.

Senate elections conducted by the schools of Arts and Humanities, Education, Natural and Social Sciences, and the Professions as well as the Professional Staff Caucus (PSC) should be concluded before the election cycle for the at-large seats.

Eligibility: Current College Senate members who are completing two consecutive terms in their respective positions are not eligible for reelection. For additional information on eligibility requirements, please consult the College Senate bylaws.

Campaigning: The College Senate Elections and Bylaws Committee strongly discourages using college e-mail services for campaigning. Please limit campaigning to the candidate statement posted on the College Senate website (available to the college community beginning Monday, April 16).

Please note: Individuals running for a senator position in another election may not also run for at-large positions while the other election is being conducted. If the other election concludes during the period when nominations for at-large senator positions are still being accepted, eligible individuals may self-nominate for an at-large position.

If you are interested in being a candidate, please contact Vince Masci, assistant to the College Senate, 878-5139. We look forward to your participation in the vital process of campus governance.

From the Chair of the College Senate Bylaws and Elections Committee
Three at-large College Senate positions will become vacant on August 31, 2018. Two seats are reserved for academics only, and one seat is open to academics and professionals. At-large senators represent the entirety of the college. All full-time faculty and professional staff members (PSC) are eligible to seek the position provided they meet other eligibility requirements (see below).

A call for nominations and information about candidates’ statements can be found on the College Senate website. The call for nominations for all positions begins at 12:01 a.m. Monday, April 16, and continues through 5:00 p.m. Friday, April 20. Elections for these positions will run from 12:01 a.m. Monday, April 23, to 11:59 p.m. Friday, April 27.

Senate elections conducted by the schools of Arts and Humanities, Education, Natural and Social Sciences, and the Professions as well as the Professional Staff Caucus (PSC) should be concluded before the election cycle for the at-large seats.

Eligibility: Current College Senate members who are completing two consecutive terms in their respective positions are not eligible for reelection. For additional information on eligibility requirements, please consult the College Senate bylaws.

Campaigning: The College Senate Elections and Bylaws Committee strongly discourages using college e-mail services for campaigning. Please limit campaigning to the candidate statement posted on the College Senate website (available to the college community Monday, April 16).

Please note: Individuals running for a senator position in another election may not also run for at-large positions while the other election is being conducted. If the other election concludes during the period when nominations for at-large senator positions are still being accepted, eligible individuals may self-nominate for an at-large position.

If you are interested in being a candidate, please contact Vince Masci, assistant to the College Senate, 878-5139. We look forward to your participation in the vital process of campus governance.

From the Chair of the College Senate Bylaws and Elections Committee
Three at-large College Senate positions will become vacant on August 31, 2018. Two seats are reserved for academics only, and one seat is open to academics and professionals. At-large senators represent the entirety of the college. All full-time faculty and professional staff members (PSC) are eligible to seek the position provided they meet other eligibility requirements (see below).

A call for nominations and information about candidates’ statements can be found on the College Senate website. The call for nominations for all positions begins at 12:01 a.m. Monday, April 16, and continues through 5:00 p.m. Friday, April 20. Elections for these positions will run from 12:01 a.m. Monday, April 23, to 11:59 p.m. Friday, April 27.

Senate elections conducted by the schools of Arts and Humanities, Education, Natural and Social Sciences, and the Professions as well as the Professional Staff Caucus (PSC) should be concluded before the election cycle for the at-large seats.

Eligibility: Current College Senate members who are completing two consecutive terms in their respective positions are not eligible for reelection. For additional information on eligibility requirements, please consult the College Senate bylaws.

Campaigning: The College Senate Elections and Bylaws Committee strongly discourages using college e-mail services for campaigning. Please limit campaigning to the candidate statement posted on the College Senate website (available to the college community beginning Monday, April 16).

Please note: Individuals running for a senator position in another election may not also run for at-large positions while the other election is being conducted. If the other election concludes during the period when nominations for at-large senator positions are still being accepted, eligible individuals may self-nominate for an at-large position.

If you are interested in being a candidate, please contact Vince Masci, assistant to the College Senate, 878-5139. We look forward to your participation in the vital process of campus governance.

Please join us for the Professional Science Master's seminar "New Strategies for RNA-Targeted HIV Therapeutics," presented by Benjamin L. Miller, Ph.D., from the University of Rochester Medical Center, on Thursday, March 1, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in Science and Mathematics Complex 169.

Abstract
Sequence-selective RNA recognition represents an outstanding unsolved problem for the field of bioorganic chemistry. In contrast to DNA, there are no heuristics that can map an RNA sequence to a synthetic compound that binds only that sequence. Because of the ever-increasing pace of discovery of RNAs with relevance to basic biology and disease, it has become clear that the development of general methods for the design of bioactive RNA-binding compounds is a critical need.

We have developed resin-bound dynamic combinatorial chemistry (RBDCC) as a method for addressing this challenge. RBDCC allows the rapid in situ synthesis and screening of large (>11,000-compound) libraries without the analytical challenges of “traditional” solution-phase dynamic combinatorial libraries. We have applied the RBDCC concept to several RNA targets, including one critical to the life cycle of HIV, and another believed to be responsible for type 1 myotonic dystrophy. This lecture will discuss the development of RBDCC, its use as an enabling tool for identifying sequence-selective RNA binders, and the further development of RBDCC-discovered compounds as lead molecules with target-relevant activity in vitro and in vivo. We will particularly focus on the development of compounds able to alter -1 ribosomal frameshifting (recoding) in HIV, thereby inhibiting viral replication. As protein recoding is a widely used regulatory mechanism in viruses, bacteria, and eukaryotes (including humans), this strategy may have broad utility.

Zhen Wei, associate dean of the School of Arts and Communication at Beijing Normal University, will present "A Painter's Life" on Tuesday, February 27, from 12:15 to 1:40 p.m. in Upton Hall 211 as part of the Margaret E. Bacon Lecture Series. Following the lecture, Dr. Zhen will conduct a workshop on Chinese ink brush painting from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. in Upton Hall 306.

As previously announced, manufacturers have ended the production of VCRs, and repairing these machines has become difficult as parts are increasingly unavailable. VHS is now considered an obsolete medium. To allow faculty members time to locate and incorporate replacement content or transition content in this medium to a different format, RITE Technology Support Services will begin to phase out working VHS players in a portion of classrooms.

VCRs will no longer be included in new or renovated classrooms, though VHS players and VCR/DVD combination units are still available in most smart classrooms and can be scheduled using the room attribute "VHS.” DVDs can still be played through the computer in all generally scheduled smart classrooms.

For more information and to learn how you can prepare for this transition, please visit the Butler Library website.

Please join the Philosophy Department for its first colloquia of spring 2018, "Sartre on Art," presented by Julia Hamilton, senior philosophy and art history major, and "Mauvaise Foi and Simone de Beauvoir's ?The Woman Destroyed," presented by Heather Mackert, psychology major,? on Thursday, February 22, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Buckham Hall B145.

Celebrate the beginning of the spring semester with the 1300 Club today, February 22, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Bengal Kitchen. One swipe gets you a premium entrée (hand-cut steak, slow-cooked pork ribs, or stuffed chicken Florentine) and two swipes get you a premium entrée plus one pound of peel-and-eat shrimp. See you there!