The Office of Conferences and Institutes is offering an SAT preparation class in April. The SAT test measures verbal and mathematical reasoning abilities. SAT test scores are often a determining factor in college admissions. This class provides an opportunity for high school students to sharpen critical reading skills, review math skills, and learn problem solving strategies. Feedback will also be given on writing samples. Understanding how a test is structured is a critical step to test-taking success. This class, paired with independent study, has proven to increase SAT test scores.

The class will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-9 p.m. on April 8, 10, 15 and 17, and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 12 and 19. The class fee of $165 includes an SAT study guide. The deadline to register is April 1 and enrollment is limited. Register at www.camps.appstate.edu. Choose the “youth camps” link. For additional information, call 2530.

Appalachian’s Council on the Safety of the Campus Community and the Office of Institutional Research, Assessment and Planning have created a campus safety survey which can be found at http://www1.appstate.edu/dept/irp/Online_surveys/Safety/campus_safety_staff_faculty.htm. Please take a few minutes to complete this anonymous survey, which will help the committee understand the current campus climate regarding safety at Appalachian and suggest programs or activities to address any concerns.

Ricardo Pau-Llosa was six years old when his family fled Havana, Cuba, and settled in Florida. His native country, however, has always been a key part of the poet and Latin American art critic’s life. Pau-Llosa will read from his work Thursday, Feb. 28, at 7:30 p.m. in Plemmons Student Union’s Table Rock Room. He also will present the craft talk “The Role of Metaphor and Other Tropes in Transforming Common Experience in Poems” from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. in Table Rock Room. Books will be available for sales and signing. The presentations are part of the Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series and are free and open to the public. Call 2337 for more information.

The spirit of American entrepreneurism is alive and well and poised to take Boone by storm Feb. 29 when the Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour (EET) visits campus. The event runs from 3-7 p.m. in Valborg Theatre located beside the Walker College of Business.

EET offers free food, giveaways, cash prizes and a great way to learn how to make money and change the world by doing what you love. The event is free and open to everyone but attendees must RSVP at www.extremetour.org (scroll down to the university’s logo and click on RSVP). For more information, contact Julia Rowland with Appalachian’s Center for Entrepreneurship at 8325 or rowlandja@appstate.edu.

Winners of the Hayes School of Music’s Concerto-Aria Competition perform with the Appalachian Symphony Orchestra Feb. 28. The free performance begins at 8 p.m. in Broyhill Music Center’s Rosen Concert Hall. Directing is Dr. James Allen Anderson. Violinist Rachael Elizabeth Kistler will perform “Introduction & Rondo capriccioso” by Camille Saint-Saëns. Cellist Hannah Utley will perform “Hungarian Rhapsody” by David Popper. The orchestra also will perform “Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, op. 36” by Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Saxophonist Scott Kallestad performs March 3 at 8 p.m. in Broyhill Music Center’s Recital Hall. Admission is free. Kallestad will perform “Sonata for Soprano Saxophone and Piano” by Charles Rochester Young, “Konsert för Saxofon Op. 14” by Lars-Erik Larsson, “Suite for Solo Saxophone” by François Daneels and “Seventh Healing Song of John Joseph (Blue),” a piece for alto saxophone and electronic tape by James DeMars. Piano accompaniment will be provided by Christina Hayes and Susan Slingland.

The North Carolina Wind Working Group will hold a public forum on wind energy in western North Carolina Friday, March 7, from 4-7 p.m. at the N.C. Arboretum Auditorium in Asheville. The auditorium is located on the first floor of the arboretum’s Education Center. For directions, visit www.ncarboretum.org, call (828) 665-2492 or e-mail Peggy Eavenson at peavenson@ncarboretum.org.

This meeting will provide a forum for the public – from local government representatives, local environmental and business groups, and residents – to voice their support, questions and concerns about wind energy development in the region.

The North Carolina Wind Working Group is an alliance among environmental groups, policy makers, industry members, educators, and citizen action groups who actively pursue wind power options by promoting supportive legislation and responsible siting criteria for development in North Carolina. For more information about the alliance, visit www.wind.appstate.edu/wwg.php. For more information on the meeting, contact Brent Summerville at the Appalachian State University Energy Center at 7333 or e-mail at wind@appstate.edu.

Award-winning scholar and writer Nell Irvin Painter will speak March 3 at 8 p.m. in Farthing Auditorium. Painter is one of the pre-eminent historians in America will speak on “Creating Black Americans.”Her visit is part of the university’s Forum Lecture Series and is free and open to the public. For more information about the series, administered by University College, visit www.universityforum.appstate.edu.

Don’t get caught in remote settings unprepared. Register today for the Wilderness Medicine Institute of NOLS Wilderness First Aid and Wilderness First Responder/First Responder Recertification Courses. Camp Broadstone in Valle Crucis will host the courses and provide optional lodging. Wilderness First Responder will be offered March 8-16, Wilderness First Responder Recertification will be offered April 18-20, and Wilderness First Aid will be offered April 25-27. Call 963-4640 for more information, or visit www.campbroadstone.com and click on “Certification Courses.” The cost includes instruction materials, certification and testing fees, and lunch daily. Enrollment space is limited.

Winston-Salem Journal
read more:
http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173354674192

Raleigh News and Observer
read more:
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/orange/story/951298.html

Deccan Herald (Bangalore, India)
Read more:
http://www.deccanherald.com/DeccanHerald.com/Content/Feb182008/citytoday.asp

Asheville Citizen-Times
Read more:
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200880214128

Raleigh News and Observer
Read more:
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/q/story/946979.html

Winston-Salem Journal
Read more:
http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173354585196&path=!business&s=1037645507703

Environmental News Service
Read more:
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2008/2008-02-12-093.asp

Asheville Citizen-Times
Read more:
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200880211086

New York Times
Read more:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/12/health/research/12musc.html?em&ex=1202965200&en=3416ce5cea673d75&ei=5087%0A

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/12/health/research/12musc.html?bl&ex=1202965200&en=5f7b6009f86c551b&ei=5087%0A

Asheville Citizen-Times
Read more:
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200880212026

Laura Norris, a staff member in Building Services, has been approved for the Voluntary Shared Leave Program. To donate vacation time (minimum four hours), send a letter or e-mail to Vicky Greene in Human Resource Services (greenevb@appstate.edu). Please include your Banner ID Number. The deadline to donate leave is Monday, Feb. 11.