Therole and responsibility of the HR policy manager can vary widely betweencompanies and industry sectors, according to organisational size and the kindof legislation governing that sector. Forthis reason, the creation and management of HR policy is not always theresponsibility of one individual. Sometimes it is generated through the work ofindividual managers – people with responsibility for health and safety matters,equality and so on. However,even within this structure there is usually one person whose job it is toensure policies set down for the management of employees are legally andpractically sound. Policies must not contradict or compromise each other,should not be restrictive for line managers and must be communicatedeffectively to the people who need to use them on a day-to-day basis.”HRpolicy managers do differ between organisations,” says Deborah Moon,corporate personnel policy manager at Medway Council in Kent. Moonreports directly to the assistant director of HR, keying into the strategicneeds of the organisation as well as the practical demands of managingemployees. “Therole I have is to lead on the corporate approach to employment matters. Thismeans creating an overall framework and giving a general direction which can beimplemented in each of our HR service areas,” she says.AtTesco, a number of policy managers are employed on a part-time basis in aconsultative role, providing recommendations project by project so seniormanagers can make informed decisions on policy within their department. “Thepolicy manager’s job is to keep abreast of the law and then to makerecommendations over and above that as to what our own policy should be,”says Catherine Glickman, involvement director at Tesco.HRpolicy managers need to be technically proficient in terms of understanding theimplications of employment law, have a good practical understanding of howpeople management works within their organisation and full knowledge of thecommunication techniques available to deliver this information to the linemanagers. Glickmanidentifies three core skills for success in the role: the ability to influencepeople, the ability to “take complex topics and make them simple andpractical for the people who need to work with those issues”, and theability to network. Thisfinal skill means being well connected – both within the organisation and tothe outside world – able to address employment issues before they arise. Inthis way, HR can be proactive in creating policy rather than simply reacting toproblems as they happen.”Alot of the things you do are unseen,” says Moon. “Very often yourwork keeps the organisation out of employment tribunals and that’s not alwaysrecognised. “There’san emphasis on developmental issues such as equality initiatives and so on, butinsufficient recognition for the things you do which stop tribunals fromoccurring.”Thereare no specific qualifications required, but it is clear that policy managersneed a good knowledge of employment law and must have operational experience toappreciate the relationship between policy and practice. Policymanagers may also require specific knowledge and skills according to thecurrent activities of the organisation. Theinitial creation of Medway Council resulted in Deborah Moon concentrating onharmonisation issues, including an extensive programme to restructure pay andconditions.AlisonBorley, HR policy manager at financial services company Marlborough Stirling,has been more involved with international employment policy as the organisationhas grown through a number of acquisitions. “There’sa lot of up-front work to be done which means working with the relevant peoplein the workplace to identify the best way to integrate policies,” shesays. “Ingeneral we try to use as many of our existing policies as possible and tailorthem where appropriate.”Withthe potential to work with managers and employees across all areas of anorganisation, together with the challenging task of bridging the gap betweentheory and best operational practice, HR policy managers can see their nextstep forward to be into HR directorship. “Thereare a number of routes you can take, but it does open the door to a departmenthead role. This role means you absorb a lot of information about employment lawand wider employment issues,” says Borley. AtMarlborough Stirling, for example, Borley has helped introduce new policiesaddressing stress in the workplace – a move inspired to promote a happierworkforce rather than responding to legislative demands.”Itis a good stepping stone if you want to go on to be a head of department,”agrees Moon. “It gives you an in-depth understanding of a large number ofHR areas. “Iknow some people miss the daily interface between managers and staff, which therole doesn’t have, but if you’re aspiring to be a director it helps to give youa good all-round experience.”Borleysays, “I like being able to see the wider picture. It’s interesting tolook at a piece of legislation and see how we can implement it within thecompany. It’s the creation of practical policies which makes the job soenjoyable.”Borleyoriginally worked in Marlborough Stirling’s life, pensions and investmentsectors, having worked for a dedicated employee relations team in anotherfinancial services company. She has a degree in French and Italian and is CIPDqualified. Shebegan her career in a generalist HR role. “You need to have operationalexperience and a broad understanding of the function,” she explains.”You have to appreciate the practicalities of people management and theeffective use of internal communications.”Borleyworks in an HR team of 20, delivering services to 900 staff. Recently theinternal communications function was brought into the HR remit, a move intendedto improve the dissemination of policy information. “Internalcommunications used to come under the marketing department,” she notes. “However,the only material they were dealing with came from us. Effective HR policy is asmuch a matter of good communications as it is creating the policy in the firstplace.” Comments are closed. HR specialisms: HR policy managerOn 30 Oct 2001 in Personnel Today Previous Article Next Article Related posts:No related photos.
HR specialisms: HR policy manager
May 12, 2021
The lowest recorded air temperature at the surface of the Earth was a measurement of −89.2°C made at Vostok station, Antarctica, at 0245 UT on 21 July 1983. Here we present the first detailed analysis of this event using meteorological reanalysis fields, in situ observations and satellite imagery. Surface temperatures at Vostok station in winter are highly variable on daily to interannual timescales as a result of the great sensitivity to intrusions of maritime air masses as Rossby wave activity changes around the continent. The record low temperature was measured following a near-linear cooling of over 30 K over a 10 day period from close to mean July temperatures. The event occurred because of five specific conditions that arose: (1) the temperature at the core of the midtropospheric vortex was at a near-record low value; (2) the center of the vortex moved close to the station; (3) an almost circular flow regime persisted around the station for a week resulting in very little warm air advection from lower latitudes; (4) surface wind speeds were low for the location; and (5) no cloud or diamond dust was reported above the station for a week, promoting the loss of heat to space via the emission of longwave radiation. We estimate that should a longer period of isolation occur the surface temperature at Vostok could drop to around −96°C. The higher site of Dome Argus is typically 5–6 K colder than Vostok so has the potential to record an even lower temperature.
Illustration of the Sangomar Field Development FPSO. (Credit: Woodside) Woodside Energy has awarded a contract to MODEC to supply a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel for the Sangomar oilfield located offshore Senegal.In 2019, MODEC secured a front end engineering design (FEED) contract of the FPSO. The latest FPSO purchase contract follows the recent completion of final investment decision (FID) on the Sangomar field development.The Sangomar field development is being executed by the Rufisque Offshore, Sangomar Offshore and Sangomar Deep Offshore (RSSD) joint venture. The partners in the joint venture are Woodside Energy (Senegal), FAR, Petrosen, and Capricorn Senegal, a subsidiary of Cairn Energy.Sangomar FPSO to be delivered in 2023Scheduled to be delivered in 2023, the FPSO will be deployed at what it claims to be Senegal’s first offshore oil development, Sangomar field located approximately 100km south of Dakar.The FPSO vessel will be permanently moored at a water depth of approximately 780 metres.SOFEC, a MODEC group company, will be responsible for the delivery of a external turret mooring system required to permanently moor the FPSO vessel at a water depth of approximately 780m.MODEC president and CEO Yuji Kozai said: “We are delighted and proud to have been selected to provide the memorable first FPSO for Senegalese waters.“We consider West Africa where numerous offshore oil and gas fields have been discovered in recent years, as one of our most important core regions, and this contract award should geographically reinforce our business portfolio.“We are equally pleased to be a part of the team that will provide a needed energy resource for the people of the Republic of Senegal.The FPSO will be equipped to process 100,000 barrels of crude oil per day, 130 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, and 145,000 barrels of water injection per day. It will have minimum storage capacity of 1,300,000 barrels of crude oil.Estimated to contain 2.7 billion barrels of recoverable oil reserves, the Sangomar oilfield is planned to be developed in phases, recovering 230 million barrels under the phase one development project. The Sangomar oil field offshore Senegal will be developed with a permanently moored FPSO facility
WHO:The Walk for the Wounded Committee, currently planning the 9th Annual Walk for the Wounded to benefit Operation First Response Operation First Response, a nonprofit organization that raises funds for injured soldiers and their families.Wyatt Clevenger, formerly a Sergeant with the United States Marine Corps, and currently a member of the Ocean City Fire DepartmentTrevor Jenni, Chief Warrant Officer 2, United States ArmyWHAT:Family Day featuring unlimited ride wristbands for $15 each. All proceeds will benefit Walk for the Wounded, and all rides except the Gale Force roller coaster are included.WHEN: Wednesday, August 2, 20171:00 to 5:00 pm (Wyatt Clevenger and Trevor Jenni will address the crowd at 3:00 pm in front of the Double Shot ride)WHERE:Playland’s Castaway CoveBoardwalk between 10th and 11th StreetsOcean City, New Jersey The iconic pirate ship at Playland’s Castaway Cove that overlooked the Boardwalk entrance was destroyed in the fire.
By Andrew WilliamsThe branded coffee chain sector is predicted to grow by a whopping £1 billion over the next decade, with the market showing few signs of reaching saturation point, according to industry analyst Allegra Strategies.Growth over the past year has exceeded expert forecasts, while London, previously considered a saturated market, grew by almost 10% year-on-year.”The growth in the branded coffee chain market is stronger than at any time I have seen in the last decade, because coffee has become such a mass-market phenomenon,” said analyst Jeffrey Young, who was previewing figures from Allegra Strategies’ 2008 report into coffee chains at Caffè Culture.The faster-than-anticipated pace of coffee shop openings over the last year has seen the total branded market grow to 3,400 outlets in the UK. Turnover is predicted to exceed £1.5bn this year and “conservative estimates” forecast the £2.5bn mark being broken by 2017.Allegra’s study splits the chains into “coffee-focused” and “food-focused” categories. The coffee- focused side, including Costa, Starbucks and Caffè Nero, has grown the number of outlets by nearly 15% in the last year. These trends are likely to continue amid favourable conditions on the high street, he predicted.”There are opportunities for independents, but chains are dominating the prime footfall sites,” said Young. “Those that are thinking medium- to long-term are taking the opportunities, despite the credit crunch.”l Caffè Culture report, pgs 14-15—-=== In Short ===== Baker still under offer ==Administrators for Tindale & Stanton are still locked in negotiations with potential purchasers. A spokeswoman for PricewaterhouseCoopers said it was still in discussions with “several interested parties” about the Durham-based baker. PWC is expected to make an announcement early next week.== Photocake online ==Greencore Cakes and Desserts is trialling a new photocake website, in partnership with Sainsbury’s. The website – [http://www.designyourcake.co.uk] – allows consumers to create their own cake design, combining images with personal photographs. Consumers purchase the cake in-store and can then create an edible design transfer online, which is sent to them in the post.== UBUK’s TV spend ==United Biscuits UK is investing £1.2m in an advertising campaign for the Go ahead! brand. The TV ad will hit our screens over the summer months. It will run from 2 June to 22 August and will focus on its Yoghurt Breaks range.== Fox’s grows up ==Fox’s has launched a range of biscuits aimed at the indulgence end of the market. Whipped Creams have been designed to fill the gap in the grown-up biscuit market. Available from June, the shortcake biscuits will be filled with cream and either Sinfully Strawberry Conserve or Lustfully Lemon Curd.== Peter’s football freebie ==Peter’s Food Service gave away free pies to hungry fans on the day of Cardiff City’s FA Cup final clash on 24 May. Over 1,000 pies were given out at Ninian Park as fans boarded buses for Wembley. Technical director David Jackson said: “As a Welsh-based bakery, we wanted to celebrate Cardiff’s achievement in the FA Cup.”
WhatsApp Conservative icon Rush Limbaugh dies at 70 Facebook Facebook IndianaLocalMichiganNationalNewsSouth Bend Market Google+ By Tommie Lee – February 17, 2021 8 579 Google+ Pinterest Pinterest A popular voice has been silenced.Rush Limbaugh, whose show airs on 953 MNC, has lost his battle with lung cancer.His network sent a message to his affiliate stations Wednesday afternoon:It is with great sadness to inform you that Rush Limbaugh passed away today, February 17, 2021, after a long and brave battle with lung cancer. In this time of sorrow, Rush’s voice will continue to be heard, providing comfort and continued insight to his legions of loyal fans. All of Rush’s audio has been extensively archived and cataloged by subject, topic and opinion. Given how timeless and insightful Rush’s commentary is his producers will be able to pull segments that are relevant for each day’s news cycle and allow us to feature the best of Rush for the full three hours of the program.The familiar voices of the programs’ guest hosts will be used in the show when needed to guide Rush’s audio from one topic to another, but Rush will be the predominant voice heard for the three-hour Monday-Friday show, the AM Daily Update and The Week in Review three-hour show.Please note that we will continue with this transitional programming until the audience is prepared to say good-bye.We will mourn together in a respectful way and celebrate the incredible life of Rush with his millions of loyal listeners. Today, a three hour tribute will air in Rush’s regular time slot. Follow-up information will be posted on www.rushlimbaugh.com. Twitter Twitter WhatsApp Previous articleDr. Fox: Spring sports may actually happen, but with a few restrictionsNext articleSouth Bend Public Safety approves SBPD Use of Force policy Tommie Lee
Philip Deloria joined the History Department last month as Harvard’s first tenured professor of Native American history, a “years-in the-making” hire that department chair Daniel Lord Smail described as “tremendous.”“He’s the complete package in so many ways,” said Smail, who called Deloria “hands-down the leading authority in Native American history and an incredibly charismatic teacher.”“He can teach on a huge array of topics — not only Native American, but American studies in general,” Smail said. “Our needs in his areas of interest could easily outstrip his capacity.”Deloria, who is of Dakota descent, grew up in a house often visited by Native American “organizers, musicians, and weirdly interesting people.” His father, Vine Deloria Jr., was a Sioux author, activist, and prominent historian. His grandfather was a leading Native Episcopal priest, and his great-aunt, Ella Deloria, was an important anthropologist. Men of the previous two generations had served as leaders within the Yankton band of the Dakota Nation, and in the Episcopal Church. Deloria is also the great-great-grandson of portrait painter Thomas Sully.Deloria’s multilayered past framed a circuitous academic route that led from undergraduate studies in music to his first teaching position at the University of Colorado and then to the University of Michigan, where he taught Native American studies and was associate dean of undergraduate education.Smail hopes that Deloria will use his administrative skills to help strengthen the department’s connections with other departments and centers around campus.“There’s no question students want courses that pay attention to the histories of the peoples without history. Native American history has taken time to develop in the North American academy, but it is starting to take off, thanks to the scholarship of people like Phil,” said Smail. “He also has strong interests in indigenous studies around the world, which has taken off as a separate field. Native American history is very similar in so many ways to the history of the indigenous peoples of Australia and Taiwan and many other parts of the world. There are a lot of opportunities for connected histories, and Phil is interested in this indigenous approach.”The Gazette talked with Deloria about his life’s path, his scholarship, and what’s ahead.Q&APhilip DeloriaGAZETTE: Can you talk about the connection tying your personal experience to your professional life?DELORIA: I didn’t grow up in a tribal community, but my education was unique in many ways. I grew up in an interesting house visited by Indian leaders, country-rock musicians, and a parade of unconventional visitors. My dad was engaged with Indian politics at a national level. My grandfather was much closer to the tribal world of South Dakota, rooted in his work as a Native clergyman at the Pine Ridge, Rosebud, and Sisseton reservations. When the National Episcopal Church sought to reorient its Indian programs in the 1950s, he moved to New York City, and then led a massive reservation-by-reservation sociological study of Indian life in the church.My dad became director of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) in 1964, and he went for advice right to my grandfather, who had maintained a national network of Indian leaders. After three years leading the NCAI, my dad wrote “Custer Died for Your Sins” and several other books that popularized an Indian politics framed around treaty rights and sovereignty.My grandfather was a fluent Dakota language speaker, storyteller, and singer. Among many Indian people, tape recording was really a thing in the 1960s and ’70s, and people would make and pass these tapes around. Every chance we got, my brother and I would record my grandfather telling stories and singing songs. At one point, he recorded a record album of them. So from my dad I was seeing the politics of the ’60s and ’70s play out; from my grandfather I was getting a bit of a one-on-one cultural education. Both of those things have now become important in the ways I think about and try to tell history.GAZETTE: You studied music as an undergraduate, and you are known to begin lectures with a piano serenade or some acoustic guitar. What was your scholarly path?DELORIA: I played trombone in high school, and got a scholarship to study music at University of Colorado. I was a performance major for two years. But I plateaued — and I found that I really loved playing guitar. Being a professional musician started to look like an impossibly difficult life, what with all the really good trombone players out there in the world. I should note that, whenever guitar players gather, I’m pretty much the worst, so I’ve embraced life as a kind of backup bass player. I’ve never lost my love of music, but it’s always offered me a lesson in humility. I taught middle-school band and orchestra for two years and was playing part-time in an originals band, and then a punk-folk trio, and then, finally, a wedding-reception band. My musical decline was complete, from symphonies to weddings. I got into music videos, crewing on a lot of shoots for bands from L.A. who would come to make video demos in Colorado. At one point, my dad said, “Look, if you’re going to just mess around with your life, why don’t you get some initials after your name while you’re doing it?”I went back to school to get a master’s in journalism and became a night-shift video editor. I did car commercials and industrials, and, eventually, a documentary project, “Eyanopapi: The Heart of the Sioux,” about Lakota land claims to the Black Hills of South Dakota. That was my turn back to all the history that had been in my family a long time.I was lucky to take, as a cognate in my graduate program at Colorado, Patricia Nelson Limerick’s history of the American West class, which basically taught a version of her important book “Legacy of Conquest.” I loved the class, and I started writing two iterations of the assignments, submitting a satirical version under a pseudonym. Patty has a beautifully quirky sense of humor, and she embraced the challenge of figuring out her mystery student — which eventually led to a conversation about embarking on a Ph.D. program. I had applied for a Fulbright to Australia in order to make another documentary about indigenous lands. I did not get it. In the meantime, though, Patty had me applying to Yale.I had no idea what I was doing there. Who was I? A twice-failed musician, substitute band teacher, night editor, basically broke all the time. I was scared, but I had a great partner, my wife, Peggy Burns, who embraced the whole adventure. Each week after seminar, she’d ask me, “Did you say anything this week?” The answer, for pretty much the whole first year, was “no.”But I learned. All those classes and (eventual) conversations did, in fact, teach me how to think. The idea for my first dissertation, which became my first book (“Playing Indian”), exploded in my brain in something like 30 seconds one day in a lecture. I’ve never had another experience like it. My wife and I went back to Colorado, where she worked for Xerox while I tried to execute the dissertation. I adjuncted at Colorado and then, in 1994, got a job there. It is worth noting that it was the same department my father was in. At one point, we even shared an office! In 2001, I moved to Michigan, a tremendously supportive place for scholarship that also encouraged me to join with others in building a world-class program in Native American Studies. There, I passed into and through the world of academic administration, which — somewhat to my surprise — I found I loved. Every day, I look in the mirror and marvel that I’ve somehow landed on my feet. And I’m grateful.GAZETTE: What are you looking forward to doing here?DELORIA: Harvard is full of amazing possibilities. It has had a history with Native people that stretches back to its founding, of course, but also a more recent engagement that dates — like most institutional Native American Studies programs — to the early 1970s. The Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP) is one of the strong foundational pillars here, dedicated not only to creating community and support for indigenous students on campus, but also to its nation-building curriculum and all kinds of community engagement. Another pillar has been the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, still going strong after three decades of important work. And then there are a range of faculty members interested in Native American issues: Kay Shelemay in music, Matt Liebmann in anthropology, Dan Carpenter in political science, Ann Braude in the Divinity School, David Jones in history of science, among others. Harvard also has had a strong record over the last few years of bringing in Radcliffe fellows and postdoctoral fellows. The Native students here are tremendous, and there are lots of students from all over who are interested in indigenous studies. I want to pitch in and do what I can to help us imagine something at Harvard that is even greater than the sum of all these very strong parts.GAZETTE: You are the first tenured history professor in Native American indigenous studies. What comes with that qualifier?DELORIA: I want to do things. Some significant part of that will be having a positive effect on the Harvard undergraduates who will be future leaders in Indian Country, and helping train the graduate students who will advance the field. Another important part will be my own scholarship. But I’d also love to have Native American students and studies at Harvard be more visible in the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association and other scholarly organizations that are driving the national conversation. And I think there are fantastic opportunities to engage Harvard’s substantial international presence. I’m fortunate to have developed relationships with indigenous studies scholars in Australia, Aotearoa/New Zealand, Taiwan, Japan, Finland, and Canada. I’d love to develop these more deeply, perhaps in an institutional context.I’m also a bit of a museum person, and it seems to me that there are lots of possibilities in that area as well. Harvard is an elite institution well aware of its obligations to lead critical conversations about justice and equity, politics and policy, the past, present, and the future. Indigenous people are fundamental to those conversations, though we are often left out of them. I’d like to lend my voice in whatever way I can do make sure that is not the case, that we always pause to think twice about Native American and indigenous peoples and issues.This interview was edited and condensed.
As colleges compete for top national rankings and students compete for top SAT scores, some people argue the college admissions process places too much focus on numbers. Don Bishop, associate vice president for Undergraduate Enrollment, said test scores do not fully reflect the attributes of a school or an applicant, especially at Notre Dame. “Colleges are accused by families as using the SAT too much to value students in the admissions selection process,” Bishop said. “Well, the colleges are concerned that students and their families use the rankings too much to value the colleges. There’s kind of a balanced equation, there, of discomfort in the process.” Bishop said an applicant’s exam performance is extremely important, but more weight is placed on class performance than on standardized test scores during the decision process. “People are concerned we use [test scores] too much, we would disagree with that,” he said. “The admissions office would be as poorly served if all we used were SAT scores. If we started being guilty of what the public thinks we do and we overused the numbers, we would have an inferior student body.” Bishop said along with academic excellence, Notre Dame emphasizes personal qualities in an applicant, including intellectual curiosity, creativity, critical thinking and leadership. “We are not going to become more generic in our selection process to get higher ranked,” he said. “What’s interesting is the more we stay Notre Dame at the core, the more successful we’ll be at raising the profile of the class.” Bishop said he wishes students and their parents viewed college rankings the same way Notre Dame Admissions views standardized test scores ⎯ in the context of other qualities. “Do you assume that the values that the U.S. News & World Report or other ranking organizations … are the same as yours, as a consumer?” Bishop said. “I would suggest … your ranking might put more emphasis on certain things.” He said students’ overuse of rankings to determine whether a college is a match shows a lack of sophistication. “There’s a certain sort of disease in this of, ‘No matter what I have, it’s not as good as what I want to have,’” Bishop said. “People have just lost their sense of perspective.” Those numbers should instead be used to help students identify a neighborhood of colleges to look into, Bishop added. “Whether somebody is ranked sixth or third or tenth or fifteenth, you need to put that away and go visit the campus, go to their website, talk to their alumni,” he said. “Do your due diligence of other fact-finding.” Bishop said Notre Dame’s ranking as number 19 in the 2012 U.S. News & World Report’s list of best national universities does keep the quality of applicants consistently high. The ranking reassures the public that Notre Dame is a top choice, he said. He said the University has especially benefited from the Mendoza College of Business’s number one ranking by Bloomberg Businessweek. “We have seen a disproportionate raise in applications over the last couple years because of that number one ranking,” Bishop said. “Notre Dame’s business school was always ranked in the top five and usually in the top three, but being number one has a cache that captures the imagination and the confidence of the public in a unique way.” Bishop said national rankings are subjective and did not accurately represent the quality of a university since ratings are calculated according to an algorithm. “Notre Dame has been consistently ranked in the top 20, but if you look at the academic profile of the freshman class, it’s actually higher than that,” he said. “If you look at the graduation rate we’re in the top three, if you look at the percentage of alumni giving we’re in the top three, if you look at our endowment for national private research universities we’re tenth … So actually top 20 is a lower rank than what our reality is, depending on what you value.” Over the next few admissions cycles, Bishop said, Notre Dame will reach out more aggressively to top students across the country. He said this initiative is not a criticism of what Notre Dame has done so far, but there exists an opportunity to do more. “Obviously, we’re doing a pretty good job,” he said. “We’re going to ambitiously think of how to [increase] that … I don’t think we’ve done enough yet as a University as successful as we have been.” For many applicants, Notre Dame is set apart by its Catholic social teaching, sense of community and strength of its alumni network, he said. “If students value our religious affiliation and our commitment to Catholic social teaching, what other school would rank with us? Notre Dame is considered by many as a unique choice,” Bishop said. “We are not generically a top-20 or top-10 highly selective school ⎯ we are more than that due to our focus as a Catholic University.”,As colleges compete for top national rankings and students compete for top SAT scores, some people argue the college admissions process places too much focus on numbers. Don Bishop, associate vice president for Undergraduate Enrollment, said test scores do not fully reflect the attributes of a school or an applicant, especially at Notre Dame. “Colleges are accused by families as using the SAT too much to value students in the admissions selection process,” Bishop said. “Well, the colleges are concerned that students and their families use the rankings too much to value the colleges. There’s kind of a balanced equation, there, of discomfort in the process.” Bishop said an applicant’s exam performance is extremely important, but more weight is placed on class performance than on standardized test scores during the decision process. “People are concerned we use [test scores] too much, we would disagree with that,” he said. “The admissions office would be as poorly served if all we used were SAT scores. If we started being guilty of what the public thinks we do and we overused the numbers, we would have an inferior student body.” Bishop said along with academic excellence, Notre Dame emphasizes personal qualities in an applicant, including intellectual curiosity, creativity, critical thinking and leadership. “We are not going to become more generic in our selection process to get higher ranked,” he said. “What’s interesting is the more we stay Notre Dame at the core, the more successful we’ll be at raising the profile of the class.” Bishop said he wishes students and their parents viewed college rankings the same way Notre Dame Admissions views standardized test scores ⎯ in the context of other qualities. “Do you assume that the values that the U.S. News & World Report or other ranking organizations … are the same as yours, as a consumer?” Bishop said. “I would suggest … your ranking might put more emphasis on certain things.” He said students’ overuse of rankings to determine whether a college is a match shows a lack of sophistication. “There’s a certain sort of disease in this of, ‘No matter what I have, it’s not as good as what I want to have,’” Bishop said. “People have just lost their sense of perspective.” Those numbers should instead be used to help students identify a neighborhood of colleges to look into, Bishop added. “Whether somebody is ranked sixth or third or tenth or fifteenth, you need to put that away and go visit the campus, go to their website, talk to their alumni,” he said. “Do your due diligence of other fact-finding.” Bishop said Notre Dame’s ranking as number 19 in the 2012 U.S. News & World Report’s list of best national universities does keep the quality of applicants consistently high. The ranking reassures the public that Notre Dame is a top choice, he said. He said the University has especially benefited from the Mendoza College of Business’s number one ranking by Bloomberg Businessweek. “We have seen a disproportionate raise in applications over the last couple years because of that number one ranking,” Bishop said. “Notre Dame’s business school was always ranked in the top five and usually in the top three, but being number one has a cache that captures the imagination and the confidence of the public in a unique way.” Bishop said national rankings are subjective and did not accurately represent the quality of a university since ratings are calculated according to an algorithm. “Notre Dame has been consistently ranked in the top 20, but if you look at the academic profile of the freshman class, it’s actually higher than that,” he said. “If you look at the graduation rate we’re in the top three, if you look at the percentage of alumni giving we’re in the top three, if you look at our endowment for national private research universities we’re tenth … So actually top 20 is a lower rank than what our reality is, depending on what you value.” Over the next few admissions cycles, Bishop said, Notre Dame will reach out more aggressively to top students across the country. He said this initiative is not a criticism of what Notre Dame has done so far, but there exists an opportunity to do more. “Obviously, we’re doing a pretty good job,” he said. “We’re going to ambitiously think of how to [increase] that … I don’t think we’ve done enough yet as a University as successful as we have been.” For many applicants, Notre Dame is set apart by its Catholic social teaching, sense of community and strength of its alumni network, he said. “If students value our religious affiliation and our commitment to Catholic social teaching, what other school would rank with us? Notre Dame is considered by many as a unique choice,” Bishop said. “We are not generically a top-20 or top-10 highly selective school ⎯ we are more than that due to our focus as a Catholic University.”
Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, in partnership with Vermont Housing & Conservation Board and Champlain Housing Trust, has received a $350,000 grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The two-year grant will be used to demonstrate how deep energy efficiency retrofits in single- and multi-family residences can make housing permanently and comprehensively affordable by reducing energy usage and costs.In addition to establishing energy usage as a significant component of housing affordability, the project will also show how various sources of government funding might be harnessed to finance energy efficiency retrofits.‘This exciting partnership will help us to demonstrate how deep investment in energy efficiency can support housing affordability,’ said Scott Johnstone, Executive Director of Vermont Energy Investment Corporation. ‘This is a win-win project that will provide a roadmap for achieving the twin goals of reducing energy usage and addressing the need for affordable housing in our community.’The project will target at least five single-family residences for deep energy efficiency improvements. The goal of these improvements is to achieve energy savings of at least 50%, and potentially much higher. The homes, recently acquired following foreclosure, will then be sold to low-income households and be made permanently affordable through the Champlain Housing Trust’s programs.Three multi-family buildings in West Rutland, Enosburg, and Windsor, financed in part by the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board, will receive substantial energy efficiency improvements, again targeting energy savings of at least 50%.‘This is an exciting time in building energy science and this funding will help us determine what level of energy retrofit measures makes financial sense for permanently affordable rental housing. We are grateful for the opportunity presented by this generous award and will apply the findings to increase energy efficiency in Vermont’s portfolio of multi-family housing,’ said Gus Seelig, Executive Director of the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board.A comprehensive set of energy efficiency and renewable energy measures will enable the expected very high level of projected energy savings. These will include building shell improvements such as air sealing and insulation; heating system improvements such as advanced control biomass heating systems; electrical efficiency improvements such as super-efficient LED lighting; and renewable energy systems such as solar domestic hot water heating systems.‘We are thrilled to collaborate with these two partners to demonstrate how effective, targeted use of resources can create lasting assets for low-income households and our communities,’ said Brenda Torpy, Chief Executive Officer of the Champlain Housing Trust.This project was one of nine projects selected to receive funding through the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation’s national competition soliciting ideas for scalable approaches to spurring energy efficiency retrofits of existing buildings in the United States. Launched in April 2010, the selection process was highly competitive, with 372 pre-proposals submitted by organizations in 44 states. The process included review by a panel of experts in real estate, finance, construction, efficiency technologies and government policies. More information on the competition can be found at www.ddcf.org/retrofits(link is external).About VEICThe Vermont Energy Investment Corporation is a mission-driven nonprofit organization, founded in 1986, dedicated to reducing the economic, social, and environmental costs of energy consumption through cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. VEIC has consulted in 25 states, 6 Canadian Provinces and 7 countries outside North America to design programs that reduce energy use through energy efficiency and renewable energy. In addition, VEIC operates Efficiency Vermont ‘ the nation’s first statewide energy efficiency utility ‘ as well as other implementation services across the country. For more information: www.veic.org(link is external)About VHCBThe Vermont Housing and Conservation Board is an independent, state funding agency providing grants, loans and technical assistance to nonprofit organizations, municipalities and state agencies for the development of permanently affordable housing and for the conservation of important agricultural land, recreational land, natural areas and historic properties in Vermont. www.vhcb.org(link is external)About Champlain Housing TrustThe Champlain Housing Trust, founded in 1984, is the largest community land trust in the country. Throughout Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle counties, CHT owns or manages over 1,500 apartments, stewards 485 owner-occupied homes in its signature shared-equity program, provides services to five housing cooperatives, and offers affordable energy efficiency and rehab loans. In 2008, CHT won the prestigious United Nations World Habitat Award, recognizing its innovative, sustainable programs.About the Doris Duke Charitable FoundationEstablished in 1996, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation seeks to improve the quality of people’s lives through grants supporting the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research and the prevention of child abuse, and through preservation of the cultural and environmental legacy of Doris Duke’s properties. The foundation’s Environment Program focuses on enabling communities to protect and manage wildlife habitat and create efficient built environments.