Technological Advance May Yield New Course Offering

Stevie Henry from the Eastern Caribbean Center, right, demonstrates the Geographic Information System (GIS) at St. Thomas Dining Pavillion Nov. 25 to Paul Jobsis, left. Henry says the demonstration was meant to call attention to the different uses of geospatial technology and to let students know about a new course offering being developed around the GIS. No formal title has been assigned to the class yet but the subject, he said, will be geospatial technology and geographic inquiry. Henry said the course is intended to benefit students from different fields of study and is expected to be offered in the coming fall semester.

"Jam" Time '09 Set for Friday, 2 p.m.

Members of UVI's Reserve Officer Training Corps practice their steps a few hours before the opening ceremony for the 2009 Paradise Jam Basketball Tournament. UVI's Sports and Fitness Center on the St. Thomas campus provides the venue for the jam, now in its 10th year.

Paradise Jam features competition between top NCAA college basketball teams in the men's and women's divisions. Click here to view the matchups. The games are set to begin Friday at 2 p.m.. Portions of the tournament will be featured live, nationwide, on FOX Sports. Click here to check out the tournament via live via live video stream.

Consultant Barry Devine and community activist Sharon Coldren enjoy perfect weather (3.90 inches of rain in 7 hours recorded at the Cyril E. King Airport, background) for a discussion on sediment and storm water runoff on Nov. 16. They led a day-long discussion for scientists, engineers, graduate students and concerned citizens on sound land management practices after heavy rains.

There was also an introduction to mitigation efforts now taking place on St. John under the auspices of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The project is called EPA-CARE, which stands for Community Action for a Renewed Environment.

The seminar, held at the UVI Administration and Conference Center, was sponsored by the Coral Bay Community Council and the Virgin Islands Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (VI-ePSCOR). For more information contact UVI’s Center for Marine and Environmental Studies at (340) 693-1380 or send email to csetter@uvi.edu

VI SBDC Names Dannica Thomas 2009 State Star

Dannica L. Thomas, an administrative assistant at the Virgin Islands Small Business Development Center (VI SBDC), has been named the center’s State Star for 2009 as part of the Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC) annual recognition program. She received the honor for her “extraordinary contributions to the work of the SBDC and small businesses in the territory,” said VI SBDC State Director Leonor Dottin.

Thomas received the honor at the ASBDC’s 29th Annual Conference in September in Orlando, Fla. She said she was proud to serve as a “starting point for helping so many people achieve the dream of starting and succeeding in their own businesses.” The Virgin Islands Small Business Development Center is a partnership program of the University of the Virgin Islands and the U.S. Small Business Administration. For more information, call (340) 776-3206 on St. Thomas or (340) 692-5270 on St. Croix, or visit the VI SBDC web site http://www.sbdcvi.org/.

Dannica Thomas, second from right, was honored at the VI SBDC’s State Star for 2009 at the Association of Small Business Development Centers 29th annual conference. Also shown are, from left, Jerry Silberman, CEO and founder of Corporate Turnaround, sponsor of the 2009 State Star reception; Jerry Cartwright, 2009 chair of the ASBDC Board of Directors and State Director of the Florida SBDC Network; Carl Christensen, U.S. Small Business Administration project officer; Leonor Dottin, VI SBDC state director; Thomas; and Antonio Doss, associate administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Small Business Development Centers.