Ithaca College professor creates Google Doodle

Google recognized Jack Wang, associate professor of writing, for creating the Google Doodle for the birthday of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of “Little House on the Prairie,” on Feb 7. The doodle was seen by the website’s millions of users when visiting the page that day and will now have a permanent home on the Doodles Archive site.

Wang created the doodle with his twin brother, Holman. Together, they are the authors and illustrators of a board book series called “Cozy Classics,” which shortens literary classics in 12 child-friendly words and 12 needle-felted illustrations. Through their work, they said they want to offer a way for parents to introduce children to classic works of literature in an age-appropriate manner, without compromising
on quality.

The doodle features Ingalls Wilder and her sister Mary, both made famous by book series about a pioneer family. The process they used to create the doodle is documented on a guest blog Google posted and can be found at www.google.com/doodles/laura-ingalls-wilders-148th-birthday.

Campus wellness program offers chair massages

All members of the Ithaca College Mind, Body, Me Wellness program are eligible to receive free chair massages on campus after being in the program for
six months.

The Ithaca College MBM Wellness program works with employees on campus to help with personal health and wellness goals.

Twenty-minute chair massage sessions will be offered from 11 a.m. to 3:10 p.m. every first and third Wednesday of each month on a first sign-up, first-served basis in the Office of Human Resources. Jeffery Haley, owner of the Massage Station downtown, will facilitate the massages.

A chair massage is a therapeutic massage performed in a specially designed chair that supports the body in a relaxed position. The massage is performed through the clothing and specific techniques are applied to the body to help relieve tight, sore muscles, reduce stress and renew the mind.

Anyone interested in joining MBM can contact [email protected] or visit the program’s website at www.ithaca.edu/hr/benefits/wrklife/mindbodyme.

Lynn Eastman to retire from Financial Services

Lynn Eastman, director of financial services, will be retiring at the end of August after more than 30 years of service to Ithaca College. She will work part-time from March through August to transition toward retirement.

Beginning her work at the college as director of accounting in 1982, Eastman was promoted to director of financial services in 1999.

Eastman was responsible for helping the college implement a number of financial information systems, including Oracle’s e-business suite, which is commonly referred to as Parnassus. She was also instrumental in preparing for the college’s annual audit.

The Office of Financial Services said it will update the campus community on plans for hiring its new director, as well as for a reception to celebrate Eastman’s work at the college.

Kaplan practice exams available online for free

Free practice exams are now available online through Kaplan to help students prepare for the tests they may need to take for an advanced degree. No preparation is necessary to take these
practice exams.

Students will receive a detailed score report, explanations to every question and strategies for improvement. The practice test will also determine what kind of test takers the students are and what their strengths and weaknesses are.

Interested students can go online to www.kaptest.com/practice to access the exams as well as other free events.

The events and practice tests are offered in the Anywhere virtual classroom environment, which allows students to access from anywhere they have a computer and Internet connection. A live instructor proctors the test and is available to answer questions and help along the way.

Questions can be emailed to Stephanie Miller, Kaplan market manager for Ithaca College, at [email protected].

Career Services to host networking workshop

Career Services will host its workshop, “What Comes After the Handshake?: Tips for Connecting with Employers,” at 4 p.m. Feb. 16 in the Career Services office.

The workshop will help students learn how to connect with employers and make lasting impressions that can lead to job and internship opportunities.

Students are encouraged to sign up for the workshop on eRecruiting to save a seat. In addition, students wanting to receive SLI credit for the workshop must register in advance by 5 p.m. Feb. 15 on eRecruiting.

This event is part of a series of other Career Services workshops, which includes “How to Use the IC Mentoring Network” at 4 p.m. on Feb. 17. This workshop will discuss how having career mentors can help make a difference in a student’s career path. The next workshop, “Make LinkedIn Work for You,” which will take place at 4 p.m. on Feb. 18, is intended to teach students how to make their LinkedIn profiles impressive, navigate the site and effectively use this networking tool. All workshops will be about 50 to 60 minutes in length.