UVI Staffers Join ‘10,000 Steps-A-Day’ Wellness Program

UVI St. Thomas staffers, from left, Richard Cleaver, Andrea Ruan, Peggy Fahie, Lorna Chesterfield, Veda Richards and Lorenzo Donastorg, gather for the distribution of pedometers, t-shirts and more to be use in the “10,000 Steps-A-Day” wellness program.

Pedometers, water bottles, t-shirts and more were distributed to UVI employees on both campuses on Thursday, Feb. 21, for the kickoff of the 10,000 Steps-A-Day wellness program. The effort will run from Feb. 25 through April 22, with participants aiming to walk 10,000 steps each day.

This new wellness activity, offered free to UVI employees, is part of a larger program designed to help change the mindset of government employees about wellness and health, according to UVI’s Director of Employee Benefits and Immigration Services Veda Richards. Kick-off walks are scheduled on both St. Croix and St. Thomas beginning at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23. On St. Thomas the walk starts at and returns to Fort Christian. The St. Croix walk starts at and finishes at the St. Croix Majorettes Headquarters at Peter’s Rest.

More information is available from the UVI web site news releases – www.uvi.edu – and from this direct link: 10,000 Steps-A-Day.

UVI Student and President Spend Day Reversing Roles; Public Invited to Hear Their Experiences

 

UVI President for a Day Marsha Laurencin (right) addresses UVI Cabinet members (far left) Vice President for Institutional Advancement Dionne Jackson, Chief of Staff to the President Dr. Noreen Michael, Vice President for Administration and Finance Shirley Lake-King and Vice Provost for Access and Enrollment Judith Edwin.



UVI President for a Day Marsha Laurencin and Dr. David Hall spent Monday, Feb. 18, reversing their roles as part of the University’s first-ever President for a Day initiative held on the St. Thomas Campus. Dr. Hall began his day of course work and student activities by walking to Laurencin’s 8 a.m. organic chemistry class, while Laurencin spent the morning meeting with Dr. Hall’s executive staff, touring the Administration and Conference Center and visiting with staff. Her afternoon included lunch with a UVI Trustee and a special meeting of the President's Cabinet.  Dr. Hall’s afternoon involved walking to the Center of Marine Science and Environmental Studies to attend a two hour lab where he dissected a lionfish and analyzed lionfish behavior. He ended his day with a Zumba Class at UVI’s Wellness Center. 

 

UVI President Dr. David Hall (center) dissects lionfish at the Center of Marine Science and Environmental Studies with the help of Dr. Richard Nemeth, research professor of zoology and marine biology (left) and Nikita Thompson, UVI student on Feb. 18. Videographer Sean David captures the moment.

 

UVI President Dr. David Hall participates in Zumba class at UVI’s Wellness Center on Feb. 18.

The community is invited to hear Laurencin and Dr. Hall discuss their experiences in a special session set for 2 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 21, in the Neil Weiss Educational and Seminar Suite in West Residence Hall. The session will also be available via videoconference in Room 713 in the Evans Center on the Albert A. Sheen Campus on St. Croix and in Room 103 of the St. John Academic Center. Albert A. Sheen Campus students should stay tuned for their chance to vie to be President for a Day when the initiative next moves to St. Croix. A news release is available from the UVI homepage – http://www.uvi.edu.



UVI President for a Day Marsha Laurencin (left) meets with UVI Board of Trustees member Edward Thomas during a working lunch on Feb. 18.

Take a look at the special, sneak preview of a full-length video covering the day UVI student Marsha Laurencin and UVI President Dr. David Hall switched roles.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXKb7fKwmcM

UVI Employees Encouraged to Join '10,000' Steps Wellness Program; Registration Set Feb. 18-21

All UVI employees are encouraged to join in a new “Just Walk – 10,000 Steps A Day” wellness program. This initiative is sponsored by the Government of the Virgin Islands and the Government Employees Service Commission Group Health Insurance Board, with funding from CIGNA HealthCare, the government’s health insurance provider. To kick off the eight-week, 10,000 Steps program, UVI will conduct group walks covering approximately 10,000 steps on St. Thomas and St. Croix on Saturday, Feb. 23.

Read a news release with more details.

St. Croix Students Attend 2013 Inauguration

A seven-student delegation from UVI’s Albert A. Sheen Campus on St. Croix braved a 5 a.m. start, a long wait for a Metro train and chilly Washington D.C. temperatures to join with thousands attending the second inauguration of President Barak Obama on Jan. 21.  Students Kasmus Patrick, Sheriece Smith, Aliya Perkins, SGA President Kevin Dixon, Amiquah Freeman, Shanah Bannis and Helena Shoy, plus SGA Co-Advisor Derval Prince made up the UVI contingent.

UVI students, bundled against the January cold of Washington, D.C., tour Capitol Hill.

Along with attending the actual inauguration, with tickets provided by V.I. Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen, the students toured Capitol Hill and participated in a National Day of Service helping to feed the homeless at the St. Luke Mission Center.  Their attendance at the Virgin Islands Friendship Inaugural Ball was sponsored by The 340 Group, an organization of Virgin Islanders living in the Washington, D.C. area. SGA President Dixon said about 300 people attended the ball, where Dion Parson and the 21^st Century Band entertained. (Click photos to view larger images.)

Attending the Virgin Islands Friendship Inaugural Ball were, from left, Kasmus Patrick, Sheriece Smith, Aliya Perkins, SGA President Kevin Dixon, Amiquah Freeman, Shanah Bannis, Helena Shoy and SGA Co-Advisor Derval Prince.

Center for Student Success Holds Opening Ceremony

Julie Cruz, UVI Center for Student Success advisor, speaks at the grand opening of the center Thursday, Jan. 31.  UVI Center for Student Success Director Dr. Eustace Esdaille (left) and UVI President Dr. David Hall (right) look on.



UVI President Dr. David Hall

An opening ceremony for the University of the Virgin Islands Center for Student Success was held on Jan. 31 on the St. Thomas Campus. The center’s goal is to increase student retention and graduation through one-on-one tutoring and advisors dedicated to promoting student success.

The center features four Media: Scape computer interface systems designed for students and tutors to easily collaborate by connecting their laptop computers to two large flat screen monitors which will allow them to work together seamlessly. The center also has a separate area for group study and an office for two advisors who will assist students with their academic studies.

“We really do want our students to be successful,” said UVI President Dr. David Hall at the center’s opening ceremony. “It is the highest priority for us right now as an institution.”

UVI Interim Provost Dr. Camille McKayle said the center was very inviting and encouraged faculty to spend one or two of their office hours in the center with students that need assistance.

“It takes a lot of people to really make the center what it should be all about – the students,” McKayle said.

The CSS is located in Classroom Administration Building Room 101 and is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday. The CSS is also open on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

WUVI 1090 AM Marks Grand Opening

UVI President Dr. David Hall, center-left, gathered with supporters, UVI Communication students and others instrumental in the founding and operation of the student radio station WUVI 1090 AM at the station’s grand opening on Jan. 24.
- Click photo to view larger image.

Tune in to WUVI 1090 AM Daily from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Station Manager April Fale-Knight gives a rundown
of the WUVI programming. Program Manager Leslyn
Tonge and Dr. Alexander Randall look on.

WUVI 1090 AM, the new student radio station at the University of the Virgin Islands, held its official grand opening at the WUVI studio in Penha House on the St. Thomas campus on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013.

The station, which went live on Jan. 9, is on the air daily from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. broadcasting from a 250-watt transmitter on St. Thomas. In addition to the Virgin Islands, the WUVI signal reaches from Dominica in the south, to Puerto Rico in the east. Plans for streaming it on the web are in the works. It features a wide range of programming focused on regional music, cultural events, and UVI and local news. It is designed to bring the intellectual content of the University to the people of the region. 

UVI's Communication Department in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences has oversight of WUVI. Dr. Alexander Randall serves as chairperson of UVI's Department of Music, Communication, Art and Theatre.

WUVI functions as part of UVI’s curriculum, allowing students to learn how to manage, operate and produce programming for a functioning radio station. WUVI’s radio frequency is being leased from WGOD for five years.

UVI Supports MLK March on St. Croix

The UVI entry in the 2013 Martin Luther King, Jr. March on St. Croix.

UVI showed its colors in the 2013 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day March held Jan. 21 on St. Croix. A total of 38 students and staff turned out for the UVI entry, sponsored by the Student Affairs and Student Activities offices. Organizers issued honorable mentions for participants Maria Friday representing UVI’s Delta M. Jackson Dorsch (residence) Complex, Fiola Alexander from the Agricultural Experiment Station, Sharyanne Garcia from the Center for Student Success and Junior Garcia representing Brothers with a Cause.

UVI to Sponsor Man Up 2013

Click to read more about Man Up 2013

UVI Aquaponics System Featured on NPR in Washington, D.C.

The UVI aquaponics system

UVI's world renowned aquaponics system is in the news again, this time in a National Public Radio report produced by WAMU, 88.5 FM, from American University Radio in Washington D.C. Reporter Sabri Ben-Achour's story features a Virginia man's catering company that includes an aquaponics garden – based on principles developed by UVI researchers – inside his warehouse. Included in the story is a brief interview with UVI Agricultural Experiment Station Research Specialist Don Bailey extolling the virtues of the system. The UVI program, has trained hundreds of people from around the world in the process. For more information, contact Bailey at dbailey@uvi.edu.

The text of the interview, as well as a link to hear the radio report, is featured on the WAMU website at this story link.

More information on UVI Aquaponics System courses is available from the UVI Agricultural Experiment Station webpage - http://aes.uvi.edu. Click on the "Aquaculture" tab.

Golf Carts Donated by Mahogany Run Provide Improved Access on St. Thomas Campus

Shown with the new carts are, from left, Security Officer II Rashaun Lindquist,
Sargeant Barbara Maynard and Student Housing Director Sean Georges.

Four departments on UVI's St. Thomas campus – Security, Physical Plant, Student Housing and the Reichhold Center – are the beneficiaries of the recent donation of five golf carts by Mahogany Run Golf Course. The Campus Security Office has received two of the carts and has begun using them for regular patrols. The carts, which are gasoline powered, offer much better mileage than existing patrol vehicles. In the future they will be customized with security beacons and lighting for use at night. In addition to fuel efficiency, the carts provide greater flexibility and expanded access to many campus areas.

Mahogany Run General Manager Kristine Macken said the golf course has always been a supporter of the Virgin Islands community, and that education is a key part of that. "Although the contribution of the carts may not be the most traditional of gifts," Macken said, "it is our hope that the addition of the carts to UVI’s existing fleet will facilitate greater accessibility and increased security for students and staff alike.”