Listervs Provide Variety of Information

By Neal Lorenzi

A WIDE range of UIC listservs are available (http://listserv.uic.edu/htbin/wa?HOME) for anyone interested in job openings, events, and general news about the campus, and much more information. Anyone affiliated with the University who has a NetID can subscribe. This includes staff, faculty, and students.

HUNDREDS OF lists are available; some are very active, others less so. Even for active lists, there are usually only two or three posts a week, so they usually won’t flood one’s email inbox. Anyone can start a list. Most are “opt in,” meaning one goes out to the listserv website to subscribe. Many of the lists also include a footer in each posting, which has links to subscribe or unsubscribe. Many people sign up for lists when someone forwards them an email and suggests they sign up.

“WE’VE HAD about 3,500 subscribers consistently over the past several years for the listserv PACADEMY,” said Michael Moss, associate director of budget operations and financial analysis for UIC. “It’s a free, easy way to reach a broad range of people on campus with news, events and other items of interest. It’s also easy to use. Messages are usually posted within 24 hours.”

MOST LISTS focus on a specific group. For example, PACADEMY targets Academic Professionals while FACULTY_VOICE targets faculty. Lists provide updates, news, and information that targets subscriber’s interests and concerns. Most are moderated, so messages must be approved by the list owner before they are posted, which helps eliminate junk mail.

“I’VE HELPED moderate PACADEMY, the Academic Professional list, for several years,” Moss said. “I’ve been happy to see it evolve into one of the campus’ primary job boards; we usually see two or three job postings each week. Many departments take advantage of the free publicity that targets internal staff who may be interested in taking the next step in their careers. PACADEMY also includes updates on campus events as well as news stories we think employees might value.”

TO ACCESS a specific list on the main website, simply click on the name of the list in the table. To find confidential or unlisted lists, type the list name in the search box to the right. For lists that have been configured with an HTML description, one can get more information by holding the mouse over the list name.

THE FOLLOWING information is about three of the many listservs at UIC.

Disabilities Issues Listserv

THE CHANCELLOR’S Committee on the Status of Persons with Disabilities (CCSPD) maintains a listserv for the UIC community interested in disability issues. This list (CCSPD-EXT) is set up for discussion of disability topics and is open to anyone on campus who wishes to be included. Dr. Carol J. Gill, associate professor, UIC Department of Disability & Human Development, Interdisciplinary PhD Program in Disability Studies, oversees the listserv.

CCSPD-EXT POSTINGS include announcements of disability cultural events and academic presentations, reminders regarding CCSPD meeting dates and other CCSPD-sponsored events and projects, as well as information regarding access, inclusion, and other disability issues. The listserv provides information that helps advance the status of people with disabilities on campus and beyond. It includes about five postings per week.

DR. GILL said the listserv serves an important purpose. “People with disabilities compose a very large but under-represented community,” she noted. “Our committee communicates information about disability issues, disability rights, inclusion and access, campus disability resources, and disability pride and culture. Subscribing to the list helps one keep up to date on issues and resources that advance understanding of the disability experience.”

UIC IS a nationally recognized leader in disability research and academic programs, she added. The University currently offers the first Ph.D. in Disability Studies in the country, which examines the social and political dynamics of disability. Disability also is a focus of scholarship across campus, engaging faculty and student researchers.

Sustainability Listserv

DR. CYNTHIA Klein-Banai, associate chancellor for sustainability at UIC, oversees the Greenlights listserv, which helps faculty, staff, and students keep up with the latest green initiatives at UIC. By using this service, people can stay abreast of environmental, social, and economic happenings, and learn about internships, scholarships, and jobs. Greenlights is distributed once every two weeks, and once a month during summer. The list is moderated.

“POST TO recycling@uic.edu if you need equipment for recycling, a pick-up, or have a question on recycling,” Klein-Banai says. “Post to uic.edu/sustainability/about/contact.html to ask a non-recycling-related question or make a suggestion. To subscribe to the Green UIC listserve that enables discussion go to uic.edu/sustainability/community/greenuic.html.”

“WE ALSO have an EcoReps listserv. EcoReps are departmental liaisons who are designated by their department head to communicate sustainability-related events, opportunities and programs back to their units. More information is available at: uic.edu/sustainability/ecoreps.html. There is also a discussion list for its members.”

Faculty Listserv

Dr. Philip Patston, of the executive committee of the UIC Senate, and associate professor of Oral Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences in the College of Dentistry, oversees faculty_voice@uic.edu, which allows the UIC Senate to share items of interest with faculty. It includes reports of important Senate or faculty events and meetings; summaries of news items and announcements of meetings, and events of interest to faculty. The list is moderated, so only postings of legitimate importance are accepted. It receives one orf two postings per week.

The UIC Senate primarily focuses on academic programs such as reviewing courses, admissions policies, requirements for degrees, and the academic calendar. It has no involvement with salary negotiation or employment issues. “There is a difference in what we [faculty Senators] are empowered to do and what a union would do,” Dr. Patston said. “The Senate doesn’t have decision or negotiation power regarding employment issues, but since it has a wide membership of faculty from all of UIC, of students and academic professionals, it has considerable expertise as an oversight and consultative body.” Despite some limitations, Dr. Patston said, the Senate “has been the only voice through which faculty could raise issues of concern, and there are AP Senators who raise issues as well. We point people in the right direction.”