The S&T campus community is advised to beware of telephone and email scams. University Police has received reports of scammers targeting international students with claims that they have an unpaid debt to the Internal Revenue Service or the Department of Revenue. Often the scammer will spoof the true telephone number for the organization. The scammer will instruct the victim to purchase a gift card and reveal the card number to the scammer. The scammer then withdraws the funds from the gift cards. Many of these phone scams use threats of jail or bullying techniques to scare the victim into paying.

The fall test of Missouri S&T’s emergency mass notification system will take place at noon Wednesday, Sept. 13. Is your emergency contact information up-to-date? With the new academic year underway, it is a good time to review your emergency contact information to make sure it is current. To receive emergency alerts and updates via your phone and email from anywhere, follow these procedures for faculty and staff:

• Go to the UM System myHR website.
• Sign in using your S&T user ID and password.
• Click the “Additional Employee Info” box.
• Click “UM Emergency Information.”
• Review your phone numbers and email addresses and update if needed. You may enter your phone, cell, text and pager numbers as well as an alternate email address. The alternate personal email address is for emergencies only. The university will only use your official university email to conduct official university business.

Wayne Bledsoe, host of the popular radio show Bluegrass for a Saturday Night, will host his final episode of the show 7-10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 26, on KMST 88.5 FM in Rolla and 96.3 FM in Lebanon, Missouri. Bledsoe has hosted the show for nearly 40 years. Read more about Bledsoe, his exposure to bluegrass greats as a child, and his plans for the future at stlpublicradio.org/bledsoe.

University Police reminds the campus community to be mindful of local parking regulations. There is a 72-hour limit to parking on the streets in the housing subdivision west of Bishop Avenue between 10th Street and University Drive. The area is marked by street signs. The Rolla Police department will patrol the streets and issue citations for parking violations.

Faculty members are invited to meet with research mentors from various disciplines to get feedback on their research proposals during faculty proposal mentoring sessions on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons this semester. Participants can sign up for a 30-minute slot starting at 3 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4 p.m. or 4:30 p.m. in Room 305 McNutt on Tuesdays and in Room 118 Fulton Hall on Thursdays. The deadline to sign up is the Friday of the previous week. Please bring a proposal idea and one-page statement about your work to share with mentors.

The Missouri S&T Choirs, under the direction of Lorie Francis, seek singers. No prior choral experience is required. Two choirs are accepting singers:

Missouri S&T’s Staff Council offers a scholarship program to assist staff members who are furthering their education. Through the program, full-time S&T employees enrolled in at least one class at Missouri S&T or another University of Missouri System campus can apply for a $250 scholarship. Scholarships will be awarded twice each year, for the spring and fall semesters. The deadline for the spring semester is Wednesday, Nov. 1. Missouri S&T’s scholarships are funded by proceeds from Staff Council’s yearly food auction on Staff Day as well as individual donations. Learn more about the scholarship program at staffcouncil.mst.edu/employeescholarshipprogram.

The Office of Professional Leadership and Campus Engagement (PLACE) seeks nominations and recommendations for its leadership certification programs. These non-credit semester-long leadership development experiences will prepare students to lead on campus and in the workplace.