VAX No More

SSU/IT retired the last of its legacy servers, the VAX, last week without much fanfare. Abandonment of use of the VAX started to occur when many administrative databases and applications were moved over to the Common Management System in the 1990s. Some legacy applications were not included in the scope of the CMS project and so use of the VAX continued for several years more. One by one though, IT migrated those applications to modern systems.

WHAT'S THE BUZZ? - The Mini-Bin Explained

The min-bin program has caused some comment among early users wondering why the program was adopted. Here is a rationale from Mark Bradley, Director of Housekeeping.

"Sonoma State University is mandated by the California Integrated Waste Management Board to divert at least 50% of its solid waste from the landfills. The University has been successful in achieving those numbers in the past, mainly because of the many construction projects that have generated large volumes of recyclable materials. However, in order to continue to comply with the state mandate, the University must improve efforts of recycling on campus, particularly since the diversion percentage will increase to 75% in the year 2010. In the
fall of 2005, it was determined that approximately 90% of the waste that is disposed of on campus from private offices is recyclable. This knowledge provided the driving force for the best opportunity to drastically improve our recycle numbers. The mini-bin recycle program is a system, which targets only office spaces and changes the way staff handles their garbage."

Fee Waivers for Graduate Students

Fee waivers are once again being granted to graduate students for the 2005-2006 academic year. Eligible students are those who are hired by their departments as either Teaching Associates or Graduate Assistants. Students are required to be in classified standing, planning full-time enrollment, and maintaining a GPA of 3.0 in their last 60 units of coursework. Students who are economically or educationally disadvantaged are given priority in the selection process. Nomination forms have been sent to departments, and may also be picked up in the Graduate Studies Office, Stevenson 1041. The deadlines for nominations are: Friday, May 26 to the School Dean’s Office; forwarded to the Graduate Studies Office by Friday, June 2. For more information contact the Graduate Studies office at 4-2237.