Looking for a one credit course?

From the Chautauqua Institute:

A dynamic new partnership has created an exciting new opportunity for you and your St. Bonaventure colleagues and students this summer. Jamestown Community College and Chautauqua Institution are collaborating to offer “College Credit at Chautauqua,” a series of one-credit courses based on lecture themes at historic Chautauqua’s Institution Amphitheatre.

Each of the courses will include an introductory class, five Amphitheater lectures, five post-lecture classes of approximately one hour, and a wrap-up class. Students completing the course(s) for credit will be required to complete a writing assignment in addition to class and lecture attendance. Each course is offered at a special tuition rate of $44 for New York state residents and $80 for non-residents. Each student will also be assessed a $75 fee for Chautauqua Institution gate and parking passes for each course.

Please note that Week Eight (August 14 -18) focuses on “Business and Finance: America and the Fiscal Future,” and whether the American economy will boom or bust. Does America lead the world with innovation and a resilient and productive economy or is America ‘running on empty’ as the world’s leading debtor nation? What are the effects, if any, of the aging baby boomers, the development of alternative energy sources and the birthrate? What are the likely effects of tax policy, state and federal spending and the strength of the dollar? The week will also explore the financial health of major markets and developing economies around the world and their relationship to the United States economy. Scheduled guest speakers include Paul Solman, Phillip Marineau, Richard Bernstein, and US Rep. Michael Oxley.

To register for this unique educational experience, call 716/376-7500, ext. 2332.

Spreadsheet errors

The Unknown Professor over at FinancialRounds has an interesting article on spreadsheet errors. We can all benefit from looking over our spreadsheets!!

There are no magic bullets, but much good advice!

Lack of jobs lead to people leaving

From NY Times:

"In 13 counties that include cities like Buffalo, Syracuse and Binghamton, the population of young adults fell by more than 30 percent. In Tioga County, part of Appalachia in New York's Southern Tier, 42 percent fewer young adults were counted in 2004 than in 1990.

"Make no mistake: this is not business as usual," Robert G. Wilmers, the chairman of M & T Bank in Buffalo, told his shareholders this spring. "The magnitude and duration of population loss among the young is unprecedented in our history. There has never been a previous 10-year period in the history of the upstate region when there has been any decline in this most vital portion of our population.""

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU PUT ON FACEBOOK!!!

Yes, I was screaming in the headline. How can people be so stupid? and yet I see many of my own students doing the same thing.

From the NY Times:

"At Facebook, a popular social networking site, the executive found the candidate's Web page with this description of his interests: "smokin' blunts" (cigars hollowed out and stuffed with marijuana), shooting people and obsessive sex, all described in vivid slang.

It did not matter that the student was clearly posturing. He was done.

"A lot of it makes me think, what kind of judgment does this person have?" said the company's president, Brad Karsh. "Why are you allowing this to be viewed publicly, effectively, or semipublicly?""

You work so hard to get an interview and then blow it. Stupid.

College Debt

Does this sound like you?

From USAToday:

"After years of rising college costs and shrinking financial aid, it's come to this: Some graduates are now leaving college with student-loan debt in the six figures.

Graduates with more than $100,000 in debt still account for a small subset of borrowers. But their numbers are rising. And the proportion who are leaving college with some level of unmanageable debt — debt they can't repay without significant hardship — is swelling."

but on the good side if it does:

"Still, students remain willing to load up on loans in large part because studies have long shown that an investment in college pays off. The Census Bureau has estimated that college graduates will earn about $1 million more over their lifetimes than individuals with only a high school diploma."

Mental outlook impacts learning

From ScienceDaily.com

"Those who consider intelligence a natural gift—or the lack thereof the
fault of bad genes—may have trouble recalling a fact they have just learned. On
the other hand, those who believe that intelligence is something that can be
acquired through dedication and hard work demonstrate more vibrant memories of
things past. Jennifer Mangels, PhD, assistant professor of psychology at
Columbia University in New York, says that such flexible thinkers have better
memories because they are less concerned about forgetting. "They look at a
mistake at a more meaning based level, rather than superficially." she says.
As a result, explains Mangels, the brains of flexible thinkers process
information in greater depth, increasing the likelihood of memorization."

If around Olean

from the SBU Notice Board

Sr. Margaret on WHDL/WPIG radio this Sunday

On Sunday, June 11, WPIG 95.7 FM and WHDL 1450 AM will air an interview with Sr. Margaret talking about the exciting St. Bonaventure campus construction, the Capital Campaign, the University’s commitment to the Atlantic 10 Conference and a number of other University-related topics. Tune in at 6:45 a.m. on WPIG and at 10:05 a.m. on WHDL.

Online spreadsheet from Google

From the Mercury News:

"Jonathan Rochelle, product manager for the Google Spreadsheet, said the service is targeted at individuals who want to do things like plan a reunion or track baseball scores for a little league team or small businesses.

It allows up to ten users to collaborate together, and reflects their changes in real time. It also offers a number of standard features, like frozen column headings and sorting, but does not have charting, autofilter or drag-and-drop capabilities. Rochelle said Google plans on adding new features based on feedback from users."