NACAC's 64th National Conference Blog

Why I Always Smile in Autumn

noreply@blogger.com (NACAC's 64th National Conference Blog) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:22:00 +0000

I always smile when I approach September and October each year because it is time for the NACAC National Conference. I smile because this meeting has always meant so much to me. While packing for this year’s Seattle meeting, I realized that this one just might be my last. Finding myself in the autumn of my years, and just having announced my retirement, this 42nd straight meeting could be my swan song. Next autumn just won’t be the same.

I really think that I started my professional life at my first NACAC national conference. It was 1966, exactly 42 years ago in Washington, DC at that famous convention hotel the Washington Hilton on Connecticut Avenue. As a brand new upstart admissions counselor, I was privileged to have rubbed elbows with and listened to such giants in my field as Bill Wilson from Amherst, Jack Hoy from Wesleyan, Ferne Horne from Mount Lebanon High School, and Jim Cavalier from Sewickley Academy. I was also blessed that my own boss and mentor, Jack Scott, Director of Admissions at Marietta College chose to take me along. I have been attending ever since, first in college admissions for 10 years and then as an exhibitor for another 32 years. Indeed, I always smiled because at each meeting, the people got younger, and thus the ideas always seemed to get fresher. NACAC has provided me with both professional growth over this long career, and also a darn good time – and, folks, there is nothing wrong with that.

As someone who visited high schools in my first 10 years of professional life, I used to comment that the best way to get to know an urban area or a city is through traveling to its schools. I traveled extensively early on throughout New England and the Middle Atlanta states and later throughout the Southeast. NACAC, through its national meetings gave me the opportunity to visit other places. After my first meeting in Washington, the next was in Minneapolis. In the twin cities I found a whole new world. I looked forward to returning again and again in 1982 and 1996.

If you go to the NACAC meeting continually, you find yourself crisscrossing the United States, east coast, west coast, with an occasional visit to the south. From Minneapolis we went to New York where I can remember seeing a smiling Johnny Carson passing through the lobby. We then went to Chicago. Chicago was memorable because of “the revolutionary times.” The 1968 Democratic Convention was fresh in our minds, and an association dealing with access to higher education was not immune from protest from the outside. I can remember watching Colonel Day, the burley but very gentlemanly Director of Admission at West Point, physically removing a profane “outside participant” from the lectern.

The Chicago of 1994 was so different. Jogging near the lake in the art museum area in the breeze and sunshine was so calm and pure pleasure.

San Antonio in 1972 is so memorable, because I had no concept of the Riverwalk before I went – what a great convention in a great city. It was highlighted by Russ Gossage, Director of Admissions at Trinity University, hosting the whole convention to a barbecue in his backyard. San Antonio in 1983 was no surprise – we knew what to expect, but San Antonio in 2001 was held in the wake of September 11th, which was on all of our minds. I had just moved to Atlanta in 1975 when that city hosted the convention and I felt that my new hometown did a marvelous job. Each meeting for me has its own set of personal memories.

It was in New York in 1989 where Stein’s Rob Glass and I did our famous Siskel and Ebert-like presentation of college recruitment publications in front of a packed house at 8:30 a.m. My oldest son, Scott who later became the subject of an NACAC Journal article, Travels With Scott, joined me to see The Phantom of the Opera – a father-son event that I have always fondly remembered. San Francisco is San Francisco. I have been blessed twice in 1971 and 1997.

Now it is rather humorous, but in the San Francisco meeting of 1997, our exhibit/display box was shipped from Atlanta with the wrong display – it contained a display from another division of the company. We had fun with a table, some samples, a white tablecloth, and loads of competitor on lookers with grins. I always attempted to see something in areas in NACAC cities that I normally don’t travel to. During the first San Francisco convention, a group of us rented a car and traveled down by Monterey to see Stanford. It was a wonderful drive.

The first Seattle meeting was a good one to see the beauty of the northwest and eat loads of salmon. Bal Harbor has memories on which I better not expound. I took the MTA in Boston to go to the Kennedy Library. Boston makes me think of baseball. During all NACAC national conferences, we fans are always either caught up in the World Series or the Divisional Playoffs. Often times this has been tough for a Braves season ticket holder like me, but, then again, it has always been tough to be a Braves fan at World Series time. I saw the Cardinals in St. Louis. As a southerner, Louisville did me proud.

Salt Lake City gave me the opportunity to examine my ancestry. In Tampa I lost weight by walking from the hotel to the convention center in the humidity. Orlando was pure Disney and fun. Long Beach was living on the Queen Mary. We were all impressed by the cleanliness and friendliness of Indianapolis. Los Angeles was Los Angeles. To this day, having started my career in Ohio, I am a loyal OACAC’er – Cincinnati was a great meeting. I was impressed both by Pittsburgh and those gracious western Pennsylvania hosts in both 1993 and 2006. In 2006 they showed off a city of change in only a 13-year span. Gold and black always stood tall.

Still the magical meeting continues to be Washington 1966. It was the start of a wonderful life and fine professional journey. I owe the folks at NACAC a vote of thanks for crisscrossing me over the country for the last 42 years, and for the hard work of all the local-arrangement volunteers who have made all of my autumns worthwhile.

But “worthwhile” is what NACAC is all about. I always remember it is only about a kid’s choice of a college - a serious life changing decision in the middle of an impressionable youthful time. And here is a professional association filled with wonderful people who have an awesome duty to protect, value, and insure that the process is kept within the best interest of that young person.

NACAC professionals and the all the nationwide volunteers who make these national meetings what they are will always have my gratitude.

This fall it was back to Seattle for my 42nd meeting and my last. This meeting was a record meeting, attended by more professionals than any other in the history of NACAC. I walked around Seattle this fall amazed just by thinking about how far this organization had come since 1966.

I have been blessed by traveling to those cities, by all those meetings, and, more importantly, by those strong human relationships developed over these many years. Now I will just sit back and reflect, and I’ll remember, and then I’ll smile. It has been a wonderful trip. Next autumn just won’t be the same.

Ross W. Lenhart
Senior Vice President
Stein Communications
Atlanta, GA

Welcome to Seattle! We're Glad You're Here

noreply@blogger.com (NACAC's 64th National Conference Blog) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:38:00 +0000

Welcome to Seattle! We hope you are enjoying this wonderful city and all that is has to offer.

If you have arrived in Seattle and have not been to the Washington State Convention and Trade Center to check things out, remember to bring your badge. You will not get very far if you forget your badge.

Upon arrival at the Convention Center, head to the 4th floor to have your badge scanned and to pick up a badge holder and tote bag full of important information--including your Program Book.

When you get off the escalators on the 4th floor, badge scanning will take place to your right. If you forgot your badge or still need to register, head to your left to on site registration.

Once you have checked in, if you find yourself needing information about the conference, head towards the Exhibit Hall area to the NACAC Information Booth. You can also purchase Imagine Fund raffle tickets at the Information Booth when the Exhibit Hall is not open. You can save yourself some time by filling out the raffle ticket paperwork that is included in your tote bag. Your contribution will support Presidents' Council Grants, research projects and other NACAC initiatives.

Thursday is shaping up to be a big day! Registration opens at 7 am. Preconference Seminars begin at 8:30 am. The Exhibit Hall opens at 10 am. First-Timers' Orientation begins at 11:30 am. And you will not want to miss the Opening Session with our Keynote Presenter, Randy Snow at 1:00 pm.

Other afternoon notables include Exhibitor Presentations at 3 pm, "A" Educational Sessions at 3:15 pm, afternoon Exhibit Hall hours begin at 3 pm, State and Regional General Membership Meetings at 4:45 pm and don't miss out on a fabulous networking opportunity at 6:30 pm when many of your colleagues will attend the Welcome Reception.

Finally, we'll leave you with a little photo tour from downtown, Seattle. Enjoy:

The entrance to Pike Place Market.

Beautiful fruit at Pike Place Market.

A vendor at Pike Place Market peels fresh vegetables.

A sampling of crabs at the market.

Fresh fish at the Market.

The very first Starbucks to open its doors in Seattle.

A view of the mountains.

Tourists take a breather.

The Seattle Aquarium.

More mountain views.

A ferry boat arrives at port.

The catch of the day.

If you have photos to share, send them to info@nacacnet.org and we'll post them in upcoming blog postings.

Homage to the Emerald City

noreply@blogger.com (NACAC's 64th National Conference Blog) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:37:00 +0000

I had been away on a trip the past two weeks and returned to very warm and pleasant late summer days. While the sun is rising later now, as I eat breakfast and read the paper the house gradually became bathed in a soft golden sunrise. You can’t suppress broad smiles from sheer pleasure when experiencing such days. Late summer days are truly amazing in the Pacific Northwest.

Alas, the past two days have marked a return to our traditionally mercurial weather. It dropped from the mid 70s to the mid 60s, and is misty and a bit overcast. We are hoping that during the NACAC Conference the weather it will rebound to that like last week. However, it is cool, pleasant, and autumnal and, like Seattleites, you might learn you don’t need an umbrella in mist. It is brisk and refreshing, and you won’t melt.

As I envision you coming to experience Seattle I remember my first reactions. I had grown up in the majestic Hudson Valley and then lived in beautiful central New York State. My wife grew up in the picturesque Mohican State Park region of north central Ohio where everyone is nice and welcoming. We both, however, were captivated by Seattle.

Fourteen years ago our children were very young and we were contemplating whether we would remain in the East the rest of our lives or make a change. Of course, when you have children you want what is best for them as your goal is for them to be better people than you. So, while we love New York and Ohio (and many days we sorely miss New York wit and Midwestern wholesomeness) factoring our values, and what we hoped our children would become, Seattle seemed a perfect fit. We have never regretted our decision.

Seattle is a place where everyone assumes you are worth something, until you prove otherwise. It is a city that is kind and one that “works”. People wait for the traffic light to change before walking, drivers regard pedestrians as sacrosanct, and folks automatically say please and thank you. Fair play is innate, rudeness or unkindness is regarded as appalling.

People are people first in Seattle; they aren’t hyphenated based upon ethnicity. We have people who are of Asian American heritage, for example, not Asian Americans. Ethnicity and differences are things to be celebrated but are far down the list of characteristics in defining a person. It gives me great satisfaction that my sons have grown up unconsciously regarding those of Latino, African American, and Asian American heritage as role models, that novels by Sherman Alexie and Debra Magpie Earling were part of their education, and that they seek pad thai or sushi when needing comfort food. The power structure is shared in Seattle: people here wouldn’t have it any other way.

My sons have grown up far more sophisticated than my wife and me. They have mastered all the bus routes and navigate the city with ease, enjoying Bumbershoot, other concerts, museums, the Mariners, the theatre, browse bookstores, and thrift shops. Because it is a kind, secure place we more willingly let go of them. They are smart and as a rule the people of Seattle are good.

Like other natives, my boys play sports in the rain, love the music scene, join their neighbors who attend the movies more any other U.S. city per capita, reach for books for entertainment, and are engaged, informed global citizens, environmentally concerned, and are consumed by a powerful sense of social justice. They have grown up enjoying both marine and aquatic environments, and find themselves arrested by the breathtaking grandeur of the Cascade and Olympic Mountains. And, the mild, marine climate assures that they can enjoy the outdoors 12 months a year.

We look forward to welcoming you to this wonderful community. It is a good place to live; it is a good place to raise children. It is about as good as it gets.

Michael K. McKeon
Dean of Admissions
Seattle University

Treading Water in the Midst of the Slightly Chaotic Lives of My Seniors

noreply@blogger.com (NACAC's 64th National Conference Blog) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 20:14:00 +0000

With the NACAC conference less than a week away, I find myself in a bit of a panic. I’m treading water in the midst of the slightly chaotic lives of my seniors as they are nailing down lists and working on applications.

A group of schools here in Austin have a college fair that comes on the heels of the NACAC conference. Parents are calling daily with worries of their own. I’m trying to make sure that I greet all of our visiting college reps with a smile since I am genuinely so glad they are here! And I’m staring down Early Action and Early Decision letters of recommendation as if I can will the right words onto the computer screen if I only look at it long enough. Oh…and I’m trying to balance all of this work stuff with some sort of personal life, too. Aren’t we all?!

So why do I think I have time to leave the office (and my life) for five days next week? Because it’s the NACAC National Conference – duh! If you’ve heard that you should go but are a first-timer who is really wondering if this is a good use of your time or if you are a veteran attendee who is trying to remind yourself that this is indeed a good use of your time (I find myself in the middle, by the way!), maybe my thoughts about why we should go to the conference will help.

Here was my pep talk to myself:

1) I get to go to Seattle! I’ve never been to Seattle…I’m so excited to spend some time there. (And although Austin has had cooler weather lately – an odd thing for us in September, as some of you might know from the conference last year – I’m excited for fall weather in Seattle!) And I can’t wait to see some of the colleges in and around Seattle.

2) I’m lucky to get to travel with some of my colleagues. It will be a great time to build our relationships but also some time away from school to process all of the college questions and have those conversations that we never have time for when we’re in the normal routine of our lives at school.

3) Speaking of conversations…you get to have LOTS of them at the conference. (Plan to drink a lot of water and maybe bring a package of cough drops in case your voice begins to go hoarse!) If you’re shy like me, you might be hesitant to strike up a conversation with someone. But every time I do jump into or begin a conversation I’m incredibly glad that I did. I learn something; I find a new way of doing something; I meet a new colleague in the field or perhaps a new friend.

4) The national conference is simply irreplaceable in our lives in this profession. There are other great professional development opportunities out there – on a state or even local level – but at no other times are college professionals from both sides of the desk from around the world gathered together to talk to and listen to one another. And the cool thing about the nature of this conference is that it’s a place where people really do want to hear what others are saying. Some of my most memorable educational sessions have been the ones where it’s really a dialogue between high school counselors and college admissions officers.

5) One final thought about getting excited about going when you’re feeling like you just don’t have the time: take a look at the offerings in terms of the educational sessions…and start planning which ones you want to attend! (NOTE: Be sure to have a second or third choice in the event that the session you want to go to is full!)

So there you have it…rather than moving into full-blown panic last night and even (not very seriously) considering cancelling all plans to head west next week, I reminded myself why we go to the NACAC conference and why we give up precious time to be out of the office and away from our hometowns.

I look forward to seeing everyone there!

Elizabeth Guice
Director of College Counseling and Registrar
St. Andrew's Episcopal School (TX)

Seattle Airport Information

noreply@blogger.com (NACAC's 64th National Conference Blog) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 20:14:00 +0000

Greetings from the Hospitality Committee. Teri Calcagno and I hope you are excited and ready for your trip to Seattle. The Seattle airport is fairly easy to navigate and we’ve created a PowerPoint presentation to assist you.

The Hospitality Committee will have a table near baggage claim 12 to assist you on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning.

Probably the most important thing you need to know is that all taxis, airport vans and shuttle busses pickup on level 3 of the parking garage. To get there from baggage claim you go up one level, walk across the sky bridge and then go down one level in the parking garage. If you are a visual learner you can use the PowerPoint or visit the airport Web site.

See you next week!

Eric R. Pedersen

Dean of Enrollment

Saint Martin’s University

Tips From a First-Time Conference Attendee

noreply@blogger.com (NACAC's 64th National Conference Blog) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:45:00 +0000

In less than three weeks, many of us will convene in Seattle for the National Conference. Personally, I am excited that NACAC is coming to Seattle as I have grown to really love this city after making many trips to visit various area high schools, community based organizations, and college fairs.

Over time, I have met the locals - thousands of friendly and talented students, faculty, and administrators that will play host and that you too will soon get to meet. I know that Michael McKeon has already shared wisdom of his hometown and in my upcoming blog postings I hope to offer up my own Seattle favorites that might be helpful to you if you’re looking for a good scone, bookstore, or an excellent place near the conference site for a walk/run. Stay tuned…

But for my first blog posting (I know, a bit late!), I’d like to provide a few nuggets to those that will call Seattle their first national conference ever. While I begin my eighth year in admission, Seattle will only be my second conference attended. As a newbie in Austin (last year’s site), there was quite a bit going on all-around and at times I felt overwhelmed. Overall I learned quite a bit, I met and reacquainted myself with other colleagues in the field, and got to see a good part of Austin. It was a blast! From that experience, I offer five things that you should do as a neophyte to the NACAC Conference.

Attend the First-Time Attendees’ Orientation: You’re not alone! When I attended the orientation in Austin, I was surprised to see hundreds of other first-timers at the event. This will also be a great opportunity to ask questions about the schedule, locations, etc. They might give you some “flair” that reads “first-timer” – don’t worry or feel embarrassed about wearing the pin. People actually treat first-timers really nice at these conferences, so wear the piece of “flair” proudly!

Keynote speakers should not be missed: Yes, you should definitely make time for a number of educational sessions. But after a busy day, it might be in your mind to call it an early day and not attend the keynotes. Don’t – you may be missing out on one of the best things about the NACAC Conference! I was so moved and learned so much by hearing the keynote speakers last year in Austin. I anticipate that this year’s lineup of speakers will not disappoint: Randy Snow, Sherman Alexie, and Dr. Zenobia Hikes.

Take some time to explore the host city: Seattle is an awesome city, home to great sports, a vibrant arts scene, and incredible city parks. I will offer up some suggestions in upcoming blog postings but for now the advice is to take some time out and explore!

Be social: One of the most important reasons to attend the National Conference is to meet new people and catch-up with those that you already know. Attend the many social gatherings that are planned throughout the conference. Schedule coffee with a colleague at one of Seattle’s cafes.

Represent: I don’t mean to sound like a huge prude but this last to-do is an important one. Remember that while the National Conference is a time to celebrate all of the amazing things that make our profession so great, it is also a chance for you to represent your home office/organization.

One last important piece of advice: don’t do anything at the National Conference that you wouldn’t want your boss to know about the next morning. I cannot speak from personal experience, but I have heard a handful of stories of things that have happened at these conferences that have negatively impacted professional reputations. Have fun (you better!) – but remember to be responsible.

Take some (if not all) of these things into consideration as you begin your first National Conference and you should not feel as anxious as I did last year. See you there!

Solomon K. Enos
Associate Director of Admission
Stanford University

Two Weeks To Go: My Memorable Moments

noreply@blogger.com (NACAC's 64th National Conference Blog) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:55:00 +0000

Just over two weeks to go and I can’t wait to get to Seattle for my eighth NACAC Conference!

I think that my most memorable NACAC moment was when I was elected to the Board of Directors, but I also vividly recall hearing Jonathan Kozol speak in Pittsburgh (PA) and meeting Hugh O’Brien. For me, the Rising Star Awards are always a highlight.

In terms of sessions, there have been too many great ones to name, but I will tell you that I have learned a lot of things at NACAC conferences that have made me better at my job. I also like the socials…

I’ll be welcoming all of the Conference First-Timers at their special conference session on Thursday, September 25 at 11:30am and I’ll encourage them to take advantage of the many things that NACAC has to offer: varied programming, networking opportunities, exhibitor information and the chance to experience the great Pacific Northwest.

I’ll also be sure to remind them to attend the meeting of their state/regional affiliates. That’s not just a good tip for first-timers, but for everyone. It's more than an excellent way to catch up on all the activities at home, it’s also an ideal way to connect with friends and colleagues from your own region.

The real trick to making the most of the conference is to do everything. If it’s on the schedule – go. If you’re invited – go. If it sounds interesting – go. That’s really the best conference advice I can offer – meet people and do things.

In my last posting I told everyone that I had started my “NACAC 2008” folder and I am happy to report that it now contains my BADGE (so that I will be sure to bring it to Seattle!).

See you in a few weeks!

Lisa Sohmer

Director of College Counseling

Garden School, NY

NACAC Endorses a Presidential Candidate (Find Out Who)

noreply@blogger.com (NACAC's 64th National Conference Blog) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:04:00 +0000

Now that we have your attention...

NACAC will remain nonpartisan, of course. However you should be doing your homework about how our presidential candidates stack up in their support for higher education. Your NACAC Government Relations Committee will make it easy for you. We've prepared a special session at the upcoming conference called "ELECTION 2008". Come and find out where they stand and dialogue with your colleagues about who you support and why:

Election 2008: How the Candidates Stack Up on College Admission Counseling Issues Session
A110 ('A' Education Session)
Thursday, September 25
3:15 - 4:30pm Room 4C-3

Related Links

Their Higher Education Platforms (from The Chronicle)

Obama/Biden Campaign Site

McCain/Palin Campaign Site

Check the blog weekly for more information, and perhaps something even more catchy!

See you in Seattle,

Craig Dodson
Associate Director of Admission
La Salle University
Chair, NACAC Government Relations Committee

Joe Tweed
Director of College Counseling
Trinity-Pawling School
NACAC Government Relations Committee

Support the Pathways to College Act: Urge your Senators to Co-sponsor

noreply@blogger.com (NACAC's 64th National Conference Blog) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:18:00 +0000

Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) has introduced the Pathways to College Act (S 3326), a bill designed to increase the number of low-income and first generation students enrolling in and succeeding in college.

The bill draws on research and recommendations from NACAC and our coalition partners, and would provide grant funds to high need school districts to improve school counseling services and increase students’ access to postsecondary planning and information.

Use NACAC’s Legislative Action Center to contact your Senators and urge them to join Senator Durbin in co-sponsoring S 3326. If Senator Durbin is your Senator, please edit the message to thank him for his sponsorship of this critical legislation!

Craig Dodson
Associate Director of Admission
La Salle University
Chair, NACAC Government Relations Committee

Northwest Harvest

noreply@blogger.com (NACAC's 64th National Conference Blog) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:43:00 +0000

This morning I was driving up Pine Street to work and for the second day saw a herd of goats in the dog walk park on Capitol Hill. They have been brought in to control the rampant wild blackberries that appear all over the Puget Sound region and grow 25 hours a day.

The first time I saw this “organic” means of pest control employed was during a visit to the sprawling campus of the Overlake School over in nearby Redmond (home of Microsoft.) Btw, parallel tangent factoids: when navigating our streets a few things to remember: Pine is north of Pike Street, so remember the N in Pine. Second navigation tip: the local adage to remember other streets’ configuration is that “Jesus Christ Made Seattle Under Protest.” The streets in question move from south to north in the following order: Jefferson, James, Columbia, Marion, Madison, Spring, Seneca, University, Union, Pike, and Pine.

Okay, back to goats and berries. I am a devoted gardener, and moved from Zone 4 in the Northeast to Zone 7 here in the Puget Sound region (gardening vernacular) where a broad new world of gardening opened (i.e. I could grow things).

Shortly after I arrived I was at a picnic at a park in Kirkland with some friends and one got up and said, “I’ll get some blackberries for dessert.” He shortly returned with a bowl filled with massive blackberries and explained that they grow wild everywhere. When he and his wife moved from Ohio to Seattle they were astonished to see posted signs by landscapers indicating “blackberries: removed permanently.”

When walking the dog in August, I am assured an ongoing snack by the rampant ripe blackberries everywhere – even the birds can’t keep on top of them. People in the region will pay landscapers thousands of dollars to get their property cleared of blackberries originally “dropped” by birds. Other seemingly benign plant species carefully cultivated elsewhere, which in the Puget Sound are eradicated with a vengeance are English and Baltic ivy (which grows rapidly and destroys houses and strangles trees), and holly, as well as a scourge imported by some demented Englishman called Scotch Broom, which when it blooms fills allergists offices with patients each spring, and then is just ugly the rest of the year.

Enough of the local horticulture lesson. Suffice it to say this is a climate hospitable to blackberries, and they are robust and excellent. Raspberries are superb as well, as are blueberries and local huckleberries and, as any of you know who have read David Guterson’s jewel like novel Snow Falling on Cedars, this region produces outstanding strawberries. All but local strawberries should be available during the NACAC conference.

Unfortunately, the asparagus season is long over. If you have eaten asparagus from the United States, and it was good, it surely came from eastern Washington State where it grows in abundance. Similarly, if you have ever eaten great cherries, they came from Washington State (factoid: the very sweet Rainier cherry was originally cultivated at Washington State University – “Go Cougs!”) And of course there is the superb sweet regional onion named after Walla Walla (a city “so nice they named it twice”, also home of Whitman College, and some of the richest farmland in the United States). East of the mountains is Washington’s bread basket, and besides wheat, asparagus, and cherries, they grow potatoes (Washington is only second to neighboring Idaho in potato production), apricots, peaches, plums, pears, and our signature crop, the apple: Washington is the leading producer of apples in the United States. (Btw, another Guterson novel you might want to check out is East of the Mountains.) If you are looking for local gifts to bring back to the office from the conference you might want to consider Aplets and Cotlets. The Liberty Orchards description reads:

“The blossom-fresh flavor of crisp Washington apples, the tangy goodness of ripe apricots, and the nutty richness of crunchy English walnuts have made our namesake Aplets and Cotlets our top sellers since 1920!”

Our neighbors to the south in Oregon produce immense volumes of excellent hazelnuts, which out here are known as filberts. Oregon produces amazing produce as well, and is noted for its many artisanal cheeses.

But surely you want to know about fish, which with good reason every visitor seeks to enjoy (unless they have a fish food allergy or are vegetarian or vegan – we have lots of so described locals and be assured they manage here quite nicely on the local bounty.) My earlier blogs have outlined our many varieties of salmon, and people here are mighty particular and opinionated about what they consider best. Personally I prefer king and coho. Fortunately for you it should be readily available fresh in restaurants (as opposed to “fresh frozen”). If you like salmon you really must have it here – the flavor is incomparable, but best prepared – and enjoyed -- SIMPLY. By the way, smoked salmon here (and I don’t mean lox) is really fine. You will probably see it listed as an hors d’oeuvre or in starters.

A white fish that is considered a local delicacy is halibut. It is dense and has a mild flavor and again will be available fresh. Don’t be surprised to see halibut cheeks on the menu (they are savored by connoisseurs.) By the way, there is white salmon as well, and it truly is excellent, but rarely seen on the menu.

Sine qua non for shell fish lovers are local Dungeness crabs/Dungies (hard shelled) with a delicate and slightly sweet flavor. Order some because when you go home as everyone will ask you if you had some.

Other local seafood of note: spot prawns, cod, Dabob Oysters (from the Hood Canal), Penn Cove mussels, snapper, sea bass, mackerel, albacore. You have got to check out the ocean’s bounty beautifully arrayed on crushed ice at the Pike Place Market, later to appear on Seattle’s tables and in its fine restaurants.

So what do you wash this down with? Connoisseurs of salmon passionately argue about the right wine, but one of Oregon’s superb Pinot Noirs will perfectly balance the oil in the salmon. If you are a devoted white wine drinker, then a Washington State chardonnay is an ideal choice. With other seafood you’d be wise to consider a Oregon Pinot Gris, or Washington State Semillon (L’Ecole 41 Semillon, from Walla Walla, is excellent.) If you are eating beef or pork Washington State produces world class cabernets and merlots (merlot is an excellent varietal, despite the pejorative comments in Sideways.) The Columbia valley region contains Washington’s Yakima, and Walla Walla appellations (AVAs: American Vinecultural Areas).

And, after dinner, you know you will be assured a great cup of our much discussed coffee to enjoy with a berry tart, or some outstanding locally produced chocolate.

Bon Appetite!

Michael K. McKeon
Dean of Admissions
Seattle University

The Academy Awards For College Counseling Professionals

noreply@blogger.com (NACAC's 64th National Conference Blog) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:26:00 +0000

In just a few short weeks we will convene in one great city, Seattle. Our conference—which can be likened to the Academy Awards but for college counseling professionals—will be chock-full of information, both updated and new, regarding the admission profession, presentations, awards, and most importantly fun and fellowship with new and old friends.

But after you strut your stuff along the red carpet attending presentations and conducting meetings, let your hair down, per se by taking advantage all that this city has to offer.

There are a myriad of wonderful institutions that surround the city awaiting your visit to their campuses. However, you may want to contact them in advance for either a personal or scheduled group tour. Visit the College Tour page on nacacnet.org for the most up to date information on this.

Outside of the work related items, be sure to take full advantage of all this beautiful city has to offer. The possibility of catching a citing of heart throb and Dr. McDreamy, Patrick Dempsey, or eye-candy, Meredith Grey, both co-stars of Grey’s Anatomy based in Seattle, are slim, however, taking advantage of Seattle’s best attractions is much more likely—from Pike Place to the Space Needle, there is much to see and do in this city known for its beautiful natural surroundings.

So, make sure you are registered, make your airline reservations, confirm your hotel, DON’T FORGET TO BRING YOUR BADGE WITH YOU (even if it is wrong!) and make your list and check it twice as you don’t want to miss out on the culture, the coffee, the museums, and theatres located in this city surrounded by water.

I look forward to seeing you in Seattle, galoshes and all, and sharing a drink or two amongst friends.

Brian K. Smith
Senior Associate Director of College Counseling
Baylor School

The Scene

noreply@blogger.com (NACAC's 64th National Conference Blog) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:19:00 +0000

So what do we do out here in the provinces when we put down the bow saw, clean the catch, and take off our waders? Actually, amidst the cedars, mountains and some spotted owls, the upper left edge of the nation is a thriving cultural milieu.

Haling originally from the Empire State, I am regularly reminded by colleagues “we don’t care how they do it in New York.” Yet, Seattle is prone to the occasional comparison with the Big Apple. Allegedly Seattle’s theatre scene is only second to New York’s (for some reason I suspect other burbs might make that same assertion.) Without question, however, Seattle’s theatre sphere is outstanding. A glance at the Seattle Performs website lists 168 local theatre companies. The big stages in town are the Moore Theatre, the Intiman, the Fifth Avenue, ACT (A Contemporary Theatre), the Paramount, the Seattle Rep (Seattle Repertory Theatre), and the Seattle Children’s Theatre. Unfortunately, however, NACAC begins at the end of our summer, when the arts are taking a well deserved rest.

So what’s playing during the NACAC Conference?

A Contemporary Theatre (immediately next to the Convention Center)
Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl
Directed by Allison Narver

One minute you’re madly in love, as only a couple of kids can be. The next minute, you’re – well, dead. Cross the River of Forgetting on a one-way cruise to the Underworld in this fantastic and original retelling of a classic Greek myth. With its express elevator to Hades, a chorus of snarky talking stones, and the Lord of the Underworld holding court from the seat of his red tricycle, Eurydice is as achingly vivid as your best dreams – and just as surreal. From the author of The Clean House, a huge hit in our 2007 season.

Show times Tuesday, September 23 through Thursday, September 25 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday (Sept 26 & 27) 8 p.m.

The Intiman Theatre (201 Mercer Street; close to EMP; 1.99 miles from the Convention Center – take the Monorail :)
All the King’s Men by Adrian Hall
In the presidential election year, Intiman completes its five-year American Cycle with Adrian Hall’s towering adaptation of Robert Penn Warren’s fictionalized portrait of Louisiana Governor Huey P. Long, which the New York Times calls the “definitive novel about American politics.” Warren ’s novel, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, is a masterfully written, vital look at the temptations and complexities of power. This bold adaptation teems with life on stage, featuring a cast of 16 actors plus musicians.

Performances begin on September 26; show times Friday and Saturday at 8 pm.

The Paramount Theatre (911 Pine Street; 0.59 miles from the Convention Center)
Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Weber
Directed by Harold Prince
Traces the tragic love story of a beautiful opera singer and a young composer shamed by his physical appearance into a shadowy existence beneath the majestic Paris Opera House. Adapted from Gaston Leroux's classic novel of mystery and suspense, this award-winning musical has woven its magical spell over standing room audiences in more than 100 cities worldwide and is now the longest-running show in Broadway history.

Show times Tuesday through Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; Friday 8 p.m.; Saturday 2 and 8 p.m.

The Moore Theatre; 1932 Second Avenue (0.83 miles from the Convention Center)
Thursday, September 25 @ 8 pm.
Lila Downs

Special Guest: LeRoy Bell

To bring her vision and songs to fruition, along with her seven-man band and producers Cohen, Aneiro Tano and Brian Lynch, Downs plays guitar and percussion. The band utilizes traditional instruments including accordion, harp and clarinet. The trumpet, trombone and tuba appear in several arrangements, bringing the sound somewhere between Mexico and New Orleans. In keeping with the spirit of connection, all writing, recording and performing is very collaborative: "Whoever plays with us becomes family."

Friday, September 26 @ 8 p.m.
Calexico

Special Guest: The Cave Singers
There’s always been intrigue and adventure at the heart of CALEXICO. Ever since they were a largely instrumental duo experimenting with their unique collection of instruments and soundtrack sensibilities, Joey Burns and John Convertino have constantly imbued their music with an unparalleled sense of drama, calling upon the myths and iconography of the American West and its Spanish speaking neighbor Mexico, equal parts Sergio Leone, Larry McMurtry, Carlos Fuentes and Cormac McCarthy. Naming themselves after a town near the California/Mexico border in honor of this cultural mélange, they’ve spent the eighteen years since they met in Los Angeles mapping out musical territory that had otherwise been neglected or at the very least considered the preserve of historians. Now, with CARRIED TO DUST, they have defined that sound, calling upon almost two decades of exploration and an ensemble of musicians that must surely be the envy of bands throughout the world.

Seattle Repertory Theatre (155 Mercer Street; close to EMP and 1.94 miles from the Cnvtn Ctr) The Night Watcher by Charlayne Woodard
Directed by Daniel Sullivan
September 25 – October 26, 2008 (something is up with their website; couldn’t find the show times)

Playwright and actress Charlayne Woodard (Pretty Fire, Purgatorio) and director Dan Sullivan return to Seattle Rep with Woodard’s new, inspiring one-woman show. Aunt, godmother and friend to countless kids, Woodard beautifully weaves together stories of the ordinary and extraordinary ways she’s mentored the children in her life.

Saturday, September 27 @ 7 p.m.
Whose Live Anyway
Join cast members of the hit TV show Whose Line is it Anyway with Seattle’s Ryan Stiles (Whose Line Is It Anyway, Drew Carey and Two and a Half Men) plus Greg Proops, Chip Esten (ER, The Office) and Jeff Davis (Whose Line) for a night of unforgettable improv comedy and song that will leave you laughing days later. Bring your suggestions for the show and you might be asked to join the cast on stage.

The Fifth Avenue will be on break; the next season beginning in October (people in Seattle kill to take time off in August and September, btw.) And, while we’re all about education, I imagined you really weren’t interested in the Children’s Theatre schedule.

A place definitely worth alone seeing, event if you don’t have time for a performance, is breath taking Benaroya Hall, home of the Seattle Symphony (200 University Street; 0.48 miles from the Convention Center). Overlooking the neighboring the central Seattle Art Museum, Benaroya occupies an entire city block and houses two performance halls. Entering the atrium your attention is riveted to two massive chandeliers by the internationally revered local glass artist Dale Chihuly. The building reflects Northwest elegance and understatement with ample wood, handsome plaster work, and alabaster light fixtures:

“The hall's traditional shape, defined by massive wood and plaster surfaces, is faceted and coffered to provide excellent acoustics and diffuse sound effectively. The wood paneling on the walls is subdivided into smaller panels, each one a different size so that each one resonates with a different frequency of sound. The arrangement of how those panels are put together, the subdivisions of those panels and the fasteners of those subdivisions are all expressed in the way the wood paneling is detailed. The result is that the physics of the acoustical design becomes an important part of the architectural design. Free public tours are held Tuesdays and Fridays at noon and 1 p.m.

During NACAC the Symphony will be performing
“Symphony of A Thousand"
Mahler: Symphony No. 8 in E-flat major

Gerard Schwarz, conductor

Lauren Flanigan, soprano

Jane Eaglen, soprano

Jane Giering-De Haan, soprano

Nancy Maultsby, alto

Jane Gilbert, alto

Vinson Cole, tenor

Clayton Brainerd, bass-baritone

Harold Wilson, bass

Northwest Boychoir

Seattle Pro Musica Seattle

Symphony Chorale "Symphony of A Thousand" is a work of epic proportions, calling for an enormous orchestra, large chorus and a host of soloists — aptly earning its nickname, "Symphony of A Thousand." Performances Thursday, September 25 at 7:30 and Saturday, September 26 at 2 p.m. (sorry, the Season actually starts in October; again note that the summer ends at the end of September in Seattle).

While at Benaroya you should check out SAM downtown (the Seattle Art Museum). Actually it has three locations: the uber branch;, the Seattle Asian Art Museum in its Art Deco building in Volunteer Park, and the new acclaimed Olympic Sculpture Park).

Besides exhibits the museum hosts evening events (SAM After Hours)

The Devil's Playground (1976). Arthur Dignam, Nick Tate. Digital projection, color, 107 min.
7:30–9:30 p.m., Wednesday, September 24, Plestcheeff Auditorium

We proudly present two films by writer-director Fred Schepisi, a pioneer of the 1970s Australian New Wave, who queen film critic Pauline Kael called "a great filmmaker with his own softly rhythmed style." In The Devil's Playground, Schepisi focuses (with a humorous empathy) on a school of monks and seminary students trying to discipline their minds to ignore their fleshly needs and emotional yearnings.

The second film in this series, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith takes place on Thursday, September 25, 7:30–10 p.m.

Creatively Speaking: The Artist's Point of View

Lari Pittman

Friday, September 26, 2008; 7–8 p.m., Plestcheeff Auditorium
The paintings of Los Angeles–based artist Lari Pittman are richly layered works that are inspired by advertising, folk art and decorative traditions. Hear the artist talk about his meticulously rendered artworks that explore difference and desire.

Of course, you are out of luck again as the incredible Impressionist Exhibit, which has been up since June 19 ends on September 21. Please don’t shoot the messenger. There are, of course, the permanent collections….However, at SAAM the following special exhibits will be up:

Inspired Simplicity: Contemporary Art from Korea at the SAAM Tateuchi Galleries
This exhibition showcases the work of three contemporary Korean artists who are new to SAM's permanent collection and illustrates their ties to that country's past. Each of these artists is continuing and re-interpreting an aesthetic developed during the Choson period (1392–1910), a time when Korea embraced Neo-Confucianism. Followers of Neo-Confucianism sought to cultivate self-control and humility. White was a supremely important color, signifying integrity, innocence and purity. A variety of whites, often set in beautiful contrast with cobalt blue, are displayed on porcelain works from the 17th to the 19th century.

Chinese Art: A Seattle Perspective at the SAAM Foster Galleries
This exhibit is an opportunity to see a fresh installation of SAM’s renowned collection of Chinese art at the Seattle Asian Art Museum. The collection was started by Dr. Richard Fuller, the founding director of the Seattle Art Museum, and his family in the early 1900s. It contains representative works from each dynastic period, and it is particularly strong in jades, ceramics and sculpture. Subsequent directors and curators of Chinese art have expanded the collection into areas such as painting, calligraphy, bronzes and, most recently, contemporary Chinese art. Thus, this exhibit of 167 pieces is not only a survey of the arts of China but also a chronicle of Seattle’s shifting interest in Chinese art.

Discovering Buddhist Art—Seeking the Sublime

Asian Art from SAM's Permanent Collection at the SAAM Tateuchi Galleries
The exhibition Discovering Buddhist Art—Seeking the Sublime features approximately 90 pieces of sculpture, painting, ritual implements and textiles from India, China, Tibet, Korea, Thailand and Japan. They illustrate the spectacular development of Buddhist arts and trace the influence of indigenous artistic styles and materials over 2,200 years. Intended for a wide audience, Discovering Buddhist Art is more than an introduction. It has been designed to evoke new views and stimulate appreciation for the art and material culture of one of the world's most widespread religions.

At the Olympic Sculpture Park (2901 Western Avenue, 1.39 miles from the Convention Center and a short walk from the Pike Place Market)

Dennis Oppenheim's installation Safety Cones (2007)
Composed of five gargantuan orange traffic cones that mimic the typical markers found on city streets. The installation overlays a new sense of scale on the park, not only making visitors feel diminutive in size but correcting some of the optical tricks that park architects Weiss/Manfredi designed into the space.

Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley (2033 6th Avenue in tres hip Belltown; 0.53 miles from the Convention Center).

Ed Reed and the Peck Allmond Quartet, Tuesday and Wednesday, September 23-24

The Pacific Jazz Institute at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley presents vocalist Ed Reed for two nights. Band members are Randy Porter (piano), Peck Allmond (saxes and trumpet), Scott Steed (bass) and Todd Strait (drums). Set times Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30 pm. Doors open at 6pm on Tuesday and 5:30pm on Wednesday. In the Down Beat Critics’ Poll, published in the magazine’s August issue, Ed Reed placed in the “Rising Star Male Vocals” category, behind Giacamo Gates, Jamie Cullum, Theo Bleckmann, & (tied with) John Pizzarelli. This is his first appearance in the poll (a year & a half after the release of his first CD)

Maceo Parker
September 25-28, 2008

KPLU 88.5 FM and the Pacific Jazz Institute at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley present saxophonist Maceo Parker for four nights. Band members are TBA. Set times Thursday through Sunday at 7:30pm. Doors open at 5:30pm.

While James Brown is generally credited with redefining and re-energizing R&B and soul music in the 1960s, turning that revolutionary vision into a reality would not have been possible without the help of his creative collaborator, stage foil and right-hand man, saxophonist Maceo Parker. Like no other sax player before him, Parker stretched the potential of his instrument to unprecedented limits, exhibiting an uncanny ability to alternate the saxophone from a melodic instrument to a percussive one, and then back again, in the span of just a couple of beats, often less.

BTW, the above mentioned KPLU is the outstanding National Public Radio jazz station housed at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma (let the record note I just promoted the Lutes.)

The Pacific Northwest Ballet (301 Mercer Street, close to EMP, 2 miles from the Convention Center)

All Tharp
American dance icon Twyla Tharp has permanently expanded the horizons of contemporary dance with her fusion of meticulous classical rigor and elements from jazz, modern dance and pop culture. Her movement vocabulary—characterized by high energy, humor and an unpredictable physical daring—is imbued with dynamic inventiveness and a singular musical intelligence. As a thrilling start to the season, PNB has commissioned two original works for an All Tharp program that also welcomes the return of her delicious ballroom homage to Ol' Blue Eyes.

Nine Sinatra Songs
Music: Songs sung by Frank Sinatra
Choreography: Twyla Tharp

New Tharp *
Music: Johannes Brahms
Choreography: Twyla Tharp

New Tharp *
Music: Vladimir Martynov
Choreography: Twyla Tharp

*World Premiere!

Performances Thursday and Friday, September 25-26 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, September 27 at 2:00 and 7:30 p.m.

Unfortunately, the Seattle Opera will be on hiatus during NACAC. Presently they are performing Aida. Next August they are performing the entire Ring (Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen/The Ring of the Nibelung). Guess you’ll have to return to see it! August is our best weather month anyway and since everyone takes vacation the traffic is also bearable.

Michael K. McKeon
Dean of Admissions
Seattle University

Who's Reading the Blog?

noreply@blogger.com (NACAC's 64th National Conference Blog) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 20:51:00 +0000

The answer to this is a lot of you! In the United States alone, we've had readers come and check the blog out from 45 states! The only States not represented (yet!): New Mexico, Wyoming, North Dakota, West Virginia and Delaware. If you have colleagues in these states and you know they are attending the conference, encourage them to read the blog.

Here is a listing of the top 10 states who have visited the blog:
1. Washington
2. California
3. New York
4. Virginia
5. Massachusetts
6. New Jersey
7. District of Columbia
8. Illinois
9. Florida
10. Hawaii

We of course have also gone international. We've had visitors come check us out from 26 different countries including Australia, India, Antigua and Barbuda, Romania and Vietnam.

We know (thanks to Google Analytics) that most of you visit the NACAC Web site first and then come to read the blog. If you’re not doing that, you’re using Google, Yahoo!, or AOL to search for it. It’s also hard to believe that there are still 24 people out there on dial-up and two readers are still using Netscape as a browser! Wow!

We hope you’ll keep reading the conference blog in the weeks ahead. We also continue to look for guest bloggers. If you are interested in giving advice to first-time conference attendees, blogging about your own experience at this year’s conference or if you have something to share with your colleagues, contact Kristen Bourke at NACAC.

Have a great weekend!

Even More Nuggets of News from NACAC

noreply@blogger.com (NACAC's 64th National Conference Blog) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 19:19:00 +0000

Social Networking Anyone?

Going to Seattle for the conference? Want to start networking now? Catch up with old colleagues and make new connections when you join NACAC's 64th National Conference in Seattle Facebook group!

Not a Facebook user yet? Here are some facts to ponder:

Facebook is the sixth most-trafficked website in the world.
There are 80 million Facebook users. More than half of them are out of college!
The fastest growing segment of users is 25 years and older.
How about a list of 10 things you didn't know you could do in Facebook.

If you don’t belong to Facebook, what are you waiting for? Join now!

Don’t Forget to Pack Your BADGE!

Planning ahead? The most important thing you can bring with you is your badge for the conference! It is critical that registrants bring their badge and registration information with them to Seattle in order to expedite check-in. Avoid the long lines and remember to pack your badge.

Preconference Workshop News

Admission Middle Management Institute (AMMI) – ONLY Five Seats Remain!
September 23-24
With just five seats remaining, sessions are filling up fast for NACAC’s Admission Middle Management Institute. AMMI is a two-day comprehensive institute designed for middle management admission professionals. Admission officers with three or more years of experience are strongly encouraged to attend this professional development opportunity. Informative and interactive sessions will cover critical areas of professional growth and development. Topics include management, supervision, leadership, communication, career planning and much more.

Guest speakers include:
Nanci Tessier – vice president for enrollment management, University of Richmond (VA)
Session emphasizes the value of developing strong leadership skills.
Bob Massa – vice president for enrollment and college relations, Dickinson College (PA)
Session will focus on professional development and how to identify and navigate one’s career track.

Visit the AMMI Web page for additional information and to register.

Management Experience In College Admission (MECA)
September 23-24
Calling all rising senior enrollment management professionals. Participate in MECA, NACAC’s two- day preconference workshop. MECA is a professional development workshop established for directors and deans with 0-5 years experience, associate and assistant officers positioned to move into a dean or director role, and all enrollment leaders who want to sharpen their skills. Fast-paced, yet comprehensive, the MECA workshop assists admission professionals in sharpening their leadership skills and abilities.

The MECA experience is facilitated by veteran faculty who will cover current issues and topics relevant in today’s changing admission landscape. Topics of discussion include:

Emotional intelligence

Personnel issues

Strategic planning

Enrollment management

Budgetary planning

Technology in admission

Millennial applicants

Chief Enrollment Officer’s Forum (CHIEF)
September 24 - 25
Registration remains open for NACAC’s Chief Enrollment Officer’s Forum. CHIEF is a half-day workshop tailored exclusively for senior-level enrollment leaders. The forum will provide an opportunity for enrollment leaders to discuss relevant issues in today’s complex enrollment environment. Network with nationally known experts in the admission field and your professional colleagues about strategic ideas.

Topics Include:

Issues about conflict of interest

Discussing what president’s want from their enrollment leaders

Shaping learning outcomes and agendas

Speakers Include:
Robin Mamlet - lead, Enrollment Practice, Witt/Kieffer Executive Search (PA)
Dr. Steven Olswang – provost, City University of Seattle (WA)
Dr. George Kuh – chancellor’s professor and director, Center for Postsecondary Research, Indiana University (IN)

For more information, visit the CHIEF Web page.

Student-Written Essay Scholarship Contest: Deadline Extended

Let your students know the Journal of College Admission is looking for student-written articles about the college-transition and admission process (the college search, application process, transitioning from high school to college, etc).

High school juniors and seniors and college freshman and sophomore are invited to enter. Finalists will have their work published in the Winter 2009 Journal of College Admission special issue, The Student Perspective: My Transition Experience. Seven finalists will be awarded $1,000 each!!!

Deadline: October 1, 2008. View the scholarship guidelines. Need more information? Contact journal@nacacnet.org

Seattle Reads; Seattle WRITES

noreply@blogger.com (NACAC's 64th National Conference Blog) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 19:27:00 +0000

The title of one of my blog entries in June was how Seattle is a bibiloholic’s paradise. However, not only do we buy more books, and carry more library cards per capita than any other city in the United States, Seattle is a major incubator for writers. Its universities have superb creative writing programs and it is a culture and environment conducive to reflection, creativity, and eloquence (being largely trapped indoors many months probably promotes literary productivity as well…)

Seattle is a beehive of authors and while you are here you might want to consider going to one of our superb independent bookstores to hear a reading. Perusing the Elliott Bay Bookstore website, I noted the following author events that will overlap with the NACAC conference:

CHUCK KLOSTERMAN, Sept. 22; DEXTER FILKINS, Sept. 22 at Town Hall ; DAPHNE BEAL, Sept. 23 at 6 p.m.; SUSAN MADDEN LANKFORD, Sept. 23 at 8 p.m.; MARK RICHARDSON, Sept. 24 at 6 p.m.; IRVINE WELSH, Sept. 24 at 8 p.m.; TARIQ ALI, Sept. 24 at Town Hall; RINKU SEN & FEKKAK MAMDOUH, Sept. 25; ROBERT SHILLER, Sept. 25 at Town Hall; ROBERT FISK, Sept. 26 at Seattle Public Central Library; HEDGEBROOK Group Reading, Sept. 26; CURT COLBERT, PETER PLATE & ARTHUR NERSESIAN, Sept. 28.

Reviewing the above mentioned June blog you will note how close Elliott Bay and the flagship Seattle Central Library are to the Convention Center. Town Hall, listed as an author venue, is a community cultural center and speakers’ venue 2 blocks south of the Convention Center. Besides the above, other events at Town Hall during NACAC follow:

Tariq Ali: On Pakistan
Wednesday, September 24, 2008 7:30 – 9pm
Location: Downstairs at Town Hall, enter on Seneca Street.
Pakistan is the lynchpin of the United States war on terror, yet relations between the two countries are never less than tense. Writer, journalist, and film-maker Tariq Ali, the well-connected, Oxford-educated scion of a famous Punjabi political family, weighs the prospects of those contending for power in The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power. Presented by the Town Hall Center for Civic Life, with Elliott Bay Book Company.

Carol Coletta: Design for Livability
Thursday, September 25, 2008 6 – 7:30pm
Location: Downstairs at Town Hall, enter on Seneca Street.
How do we change the American dream from a society that chooses poorly-planned, sprawling development to one that prefers compact, walkable, well-designed neighborhoods? Carol Coletta, CEO of CEOs for Cities and the host of the syndicated radio program Smart City, explores how to harness our common interests to create vibrant landscapes while conserving critical landscapes in a lecture entitled “Design for Livability: Changing the American Dream.” Presented by the Cascade Land Conservancy, Allied Arts, and the American Institute of Architects

Robert Shiller: 'The Subprime Solution'
Thursday, September 25, 2008 7:30 – 9pm
Location: Downstairs at Town Hall, enter on Seneca Street.
Yale economics professor Robert Shiller rose to fame in 2000 with his best-selling Irrational Exuberance, in which he effectively predicted the tech and stock market crash of 2001. In his new book, The Subprime Solution: How Today’s Global Financial Crisis Happened, and What to Do About It, Shiller looks at how we got into the subprime mess and how we can get out of it. Shiller concludes that unchecked financial innovation works poorly in asset markets and describes the institutional measures he believes are necessary to prevent future such bubbles. Presented by the Town Hall Center for Civic Life, with Elliott Bay Book Company.

Historic Seattle Bungalow Fair
Friday, September 26, 2008 10am – 5pm
Location: Enter on 8th Avenue
Entering its second decade as the premier event of its kind in the Pacific Northwest, Town Hall is once again the setting for Historic Seattle’s Bungalow Fair, a show and sale of antiques and new work by fifty of the nation’s leading designers and craftspeople in metal, tile, glass, textiles, ceramics, and lighting. The fair is an opportunity to learn about early 20th century architecture and design, and to get answers from experts in the field.

Ah, but again I digress…back to writers.

Unfortunately, something is wrong with Bailey Coy Books website, so I can’t find their schedule of author readings, but call 206-323-8842 and they can advise you accordingly. Their location on Broadway (yet another earlier blog entry) is adjacent to a multitude of great restaurants, bizarre natives, and the Dilettante Café.

Of course there are readings at the Seattle Public Libraries. The list of events that overlaps with the NACAC conference follows:

Thursday, Sep. 25, 2008:

Genealogy: Databases & the Internet at the Central Library
4 – 6 p.m.
Where: *Central Library
Summary:
Learn how to use the electronic databases and Internet resources found on the Seattle Public Library's Web site to search for your ancestors.

Eric Liu and Nick Hanauer discuss 'The True Patriot' at the Capitol Hill Branch
6:30 – 8 p.m.
Where: Capitol Hill Branch
Summary:
Join co-authors Eric Liu and Nick Hanauer for a conversation about The True Patriot.

Garth Stein reads at the Ballard Branch
6:30 – 7:45 p.m.
Where: Ballard Branch
Summary:
Meet author Garth Stein as he reads from The Art of Racing in the Rain, a novel chosen as this summer's #1 must-read by Book Sense, the Starbucks Book Club, the Today Show, and The Early Show.

Friday, Sep. 26, 2008:

2008 Friends of The Seattle Public Library Book Sale: Members Preview Night at Magnuson Park
6:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Address: Warren G. Magnuson Park, 7400 Sand Point Way NE, Building #30, Seattle, WA 98125 Where: Non-Library Location
Summary: Join us for the Pacific Northwest's preeminent book sale with more than 200,000 books, records, CDs, DVDs, videos and art prints!

Saturday, Sep. 27, 2008

2008 Friends of The Seattle Public Library Book Sale at Magnuson Park
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Address: Warren G. Magnuson Park, 7400 Sand Point Way NE, Building #30,Seattle, WA 98125
Where: Non-Library Location
Join us for the Pacific Northwest's preeminent book sale with more than 200,000 books, records, CDs, DVDs, videos and art prints!
10:00 am

Patterns, Series, Numbers and Motifs: Resources for A Designing Eye at the Central Library
10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Where: *Central Library
Summary: Learn which books, magazines, web pages and images in the Central Library's Art and Picture Files and collection can inspire ideas for incorporating pattern design into your artistic projects.

80th Birthday Celebration at the Greenwood Branch
1 – 6 p.m.
Where: Greenwood Branch
Summary: The Greenwood Branch Library will be celebrating 80 years of library service to the Greenwood Community (1928 - 2008).

'Danger: Books! A Celebration of Intellectual Freedom' at the Delridge Branch
2 – 3:30 p.m.
Where: Delridge Branch
Summary: Book-It Repertory Theatre is bringing its "Danger: Books!" program to Seattle Public Library branches

At the University of Washington and in the epicenter of the U District is the truly superb University Bookstore (let the record reflect that I am actually promoting the University of Washington…ahem.) Its author events that overlap with NACAC follow:

Thursday, September 25 at 7 pm

David Arnold

The Fishermen's Frontier: People and Salmon in Southeast Alaska

Discussion & Book Signing

Friday, September 26 at 7 pm

Anne Crossman

Getting the Best Out of College

Discussion & Book Signing

Just northwest of town in Lake Forest Park is highly respected Third Place Books. The following author events overlap with NACAC. Third Place has a second store in Seattle’s Ravenna neighborhood (adjacent to the U District), but its events for September aren’t posted yet. Events at the Lake Forest Park store, that overlap with the NACAC conference are listed below:

Wednesday, September 24, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.
Maggot in My Sweet Potatoes by Susan Madden Lankford

Thursday, September 25, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.
Cyndere's Midnight by Jeffrey Overstreet

Friday, September 26, 2008 at 6:30 p.m.
My One Hundred Adventures by Polly Horvath

Saturday, September 27, 2008 at 6:30 p.m.
Look Me in the Eye by John Robison

Enough about bookstores. I started this blog to highlight some local authors of particular note.

Among them is Sherman Alexie who is one of the NACAC conference keynote speakers. He is perhaps best known for The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, his debut collection of stories that won the PEN/Hemingway Award in 1993. Alexie grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation, graduated from Washington State and relocated to Seattle. A prolific writer of short stories, novels and poetry, Alexie is also a renowned stand-up performer who held the World Heavyweight Poetry Championship from 1998 to 2001. Alexie was named in 1996 by Granta magazine as one of the 20 Best Young American Novelists, as well as one of 20 Writers for the 21st Century by the New Yorker. He branched out into films with "Smoke Signals" and "The Business of Fancydancing." He is also a dedicated basketball player and Seattle Sonics season-ticket holder.

Gary Atkins

He is best known for Gay Seattle: Stories of Exile and Belonging which examines the struggle by gays and lesbians in Seattle to claim their full rights of communication and citizenship despite political and religious discrimination, which won the Washington State Book Award and was recognized as Jesuit Book of the Year. Currently Atkins is writing a book examining the freedom of communication struggles of gay men in Southeast Asia, tentatively titled Islands of the Morning. Prior to coming to Seattle, he worked as an investigative and literary journalist and ditor for the Riverside Press-Enterprise in California where he often wrote about social and environmental justice issues. He teaches journalism and communication at Seattle University.

Rebecca Brown

She is best known for The Gifts of the Body, a haunting novel about an AIDS caregiver published in 1994 that went on to win a Lambda Award. A resident of Seattle, Brown was the first writer in residence at Richard Hugo House and has taught writing often at that literary center on Capitol Hill. She now directs the literature program at the Centrum Foundation in Port Townsend, including its popular summer writers conference. Brown's wide-ranging work has probed such little-explored literary territory as a dance opera, a quasi-dictionary and a collaboration with a visual artist. Brown's writing is known for its spare language and powerful imagery.

Charles Cross

Best known for Heavier Than Heaven, a biography of late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain that won the ASCAP Timothy White Award for outstanding biography in 2002. A Seattle resident, Cross rose to local journalistic prominence as editor of the much-praised alternative-music magazine The Rocket, which he headed for 14 years. He is also a recognized authority on Bruce Springsteen who has published freelance articles in such major publications as Rolling Stone, Esquire, Playboy and Spin. Cross followed his Cobain biography with one of another Northwest icon, Jimi Hendrix, and is at work on another, of Bruce Lee.

Pete Dexter

He is best known for Paris Trout, winner of the National Book Award for fiction in 1988. Dexter, a resident of Whidbey Island, worked as a much-heralded newspaper columnist in Philadelphia and Sacramento while also branching into writing novels and screenplays. His syndicated column ran for three years in the P-I. A 1991 TV film version of "Paris Trout" starred Dennis Hopper and Ed Harris. Dexter's work is known for its gritty detail and its mix of mordant wit and raw violence.

Ivan Doig

He is best known for This House of Sky, his 1980 debut that is regarded as a classic Western memoir about growing up on a ranch in Montana; it was a finalist for the National Book Award. Doig's background includes stints as a ranch hand, a newspaperman and a magazine editor. He has a doctorate in history from the University of Washington. Although a resident of Seattle for four decades, Doig often is thought of as a Montana writer since so many of his novels and memoirs are set under the Big Sky. His work is known for its humanity and its attention to historic detail. When the San Francisco Chronicle took a poll to name the West's best books of fiction and non-fiction in 1999, Doig was the only writer to make both lists.

Timothy Egan

He is best known for The Worst Hard Time, his riveting account of the Dust Bowl that won last year's National Book Award in non-fiction. Egan's early reputation was built largely upon The Good Rain, his 1990 debut that has long been regarded as one of the pivotal accounts of the present-day Northwest. A onetime reporter for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Egan moved on to The New York Times, where he long has been a national reporter based in Seattle and shared in the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for a series on race in America. Egan is an unrepentant Northwest chauvinist with a passion for the region's outdoor pursuits, muscular cabernets and sports teams (Mariners, Huskies).

Ellen Forney

She is best known for I Love Led Zeppelin: Panty Dropping Comics, a 2006 collection of graphic work published by Fantagraphics Books, the Seattle-based publisher in the forefront of the sudden rise to prominence of the graphic novel. A resident of Seattle since 1989, Forney has had her cartoons and illustrations published in the Stranger, L.A. Weekly and BUST magazine. "I Love Led Zeppelin" featured an introduction by Sherman Alexie; the two are now collaborating on an upcoming book. Forney teaches comics at Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts.

David Guterson

He is best known for Snow Falling on Cedars, winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction in 1994; a high-profile film version was released in 1998. A former high school English teacher, he is a longtime resident of Bainbridge Island. Guterson has written a collection of short stories, a non-fiction book on home-schooling and four novels, all set in the Northwest with many evocative descriptions of the region's varied landscapes. Named in 1996 by Granta magazine as one of 20 Best Young American Novelists. His mentor at the University of Washington was Charles Johnson. His most recent book is The Other, which is a superb read.

Charles Johnson

He is best known for Middle Passage, winner of the National Book Award for fiction in 1990. Started his career as a cartoonist who satirized race relations. A longtime resident of Seattle, Johnson holds an endowed chair in creative writing at the University of Washington. A prolific writer of short stories, essays, screenplays and novels, including a richly imagined look at the last two years of crisis in the life of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (Dreamer). Johnson is a recipient of a "genius grant" from the MacArthur Foundation, as well as an Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Eric Liu

He is best known for The Accidental Asian, where explores identity, in particular, the meaning of his own American and Asian American identity. Liu served as a speechwriter for President Bill Clinton and later as the president's deputy domestic policy adviser. Liu is co-founder of The True Patriot Network, a political action tank framed upon the ideas he and Nick Hanauer presented in their 2007 book, The True Patriot.

He writes the 'Teachings' column for Slate magazine and is also author of Guiding Lights: The People Who Lead Us Toward Our Purpose in about transformative mentors, leaders and teachers. Guiding Lights is the Official Book of National Mentoring Month and has led to the creation of a broad civic campaign to highlight mentorship in all walks of life. Liu teaches at the University of Washington's Evans School of Public Affairs.

Lydia Minatoya

She is perhaps best known for Talking to High Monks in the Snow her autobiographical account that explores an Asian American woman’s search for identity, culture and belonging. Talking to High Monks won the 1991 PEN/Jerard Fund Award Her most recent book is The Strangeness of Beauty --a novel of three generations of women who reunite on the brink of World War II. A native of Albany, N.Y. Minatoya is a long time resident of Seattle and is a counselor at North Seattle Community College.

Jonathan Raban

He is best known for Bad Land: An American Romance, winner of the National Book Critics Award for non-fiction in 1996. A native of England, Raban has lived in Seattle since 1990. Much of his early reputation was based upon a series of first-person travel books that helped fuel the remarkable resurgence in the popularity of that genre of literary non-fiction. A frequent commentator on American affairs in British and American publications. Known for his incisive wit and his perennial outsider persona in his writings. An avid sailor who chronicled his voyage to Alaska in Passage to Juneau. After two decades devoted to non-fiction, he returned to the novel in 2003 with Waxwings, a portrait of Seattle in the dot-com era. His most recent book is Surveillance, another Seattle-set novel.

Tom Robbins

Best known for Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, his 1976 classic that became a 1993 film by director Gus Van Sant. A native of Blowing Rock, N.C., Robbins has lived in nearby La Conner since 1970 on April Fool's Day. He is a denizen of the best-seller lists, with his past seven books in a row achieving that level of popularity. His works have been translated into 22 foreign languages, most recently Lithuanian. Named among "100 Best Writers of the 20th Century" by Writer's Digest magazine. He pent four years early in his career as a fill-in copy editor at the Seattle P-I.

Ann Rule

She is best known for The Stranger Beside Me, her chilling 1980 book that recounted working in the Seattle Crisis Clinic with a personable young man who turned out to be Ted Bundy, the notorious serial killer. A longtime Seattle resident, Rule worked for the Seattle Police Department before turning full time to writing in 1969. Has had 20 books on The New York Times best-seller list on her way to becoming one of the country's most popular and prolific writers on true crime. Rule won a Peabody Award for TV miniseries (Small Sacrifices) based on one of her books. Took an exhaustive look at the Green River murders by Gary Ridgway in Green River, Running Red.

Dan Savage

He is best known Savage is best known for penning the internationally syndicated relationship and sex advice column Savage Love featured in Seattle’s provocative alternative newspaper The Stranger, for which he also serves as editor. He is author of Savage Love: Straight Answers from America's Most Popular Sex Columnist a collection of letters from his column. The Kid relating how he and his boyfriend adopted a baby boy through open adoption, Skipping Towards Gomorrah: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Pursuit of Happiness in America which describes his exploration of the seven deadly sins (a satiric reference to Robert Bork's book Slouching Towards Gomorrah: Modern Liberalism and American Decline.), The Commitment: Love, Sex, Marriage, and My Family (a memoir of his life, relationship and family and a commentary on the gay marriage debate. Things I've Learned from Women Who've Dumped Me. An author, media pundit, journalist and newspaper editor Savage is a Seattle icon and is often been the subject of controversy regarding his opinions that pointedly clash with both traditional conservative moral values and those put forth by what Savage calls the "gay establishment."

I am just scratching the surface with this ecclectic list of Seattle writers. However, if you are a person of letters, you will be in good company when you join us in Seattle for the NACAC conference.

Michael K. McKeon

Dean of Admissions

Seattle University

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Speak Like a Native

noreply@blogger.com (NACAC's 64th National Conference Blog) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:38:00 +0000

It helps when in Seattle to know the local vernacular to get what you want and where you want to go. Those who have read some of the earlier blog postings might regard this partly as a refresher course, but there are some additions not included in other entries. Master these terms, don your polar fleece and Birkenstocks, grab a double tall macchiato, and Seattleites might assume you are a local.

Local Term	Standard American translation
Ya Sure, Ya Betcha	Okay; derived from the local speak in Ballard, Seattle’s Scandanavian enclave. Also the name of a Red Hook IPA also known as Ballard Bitter
Bumbershoot	Umbrella (also the name of a behemoth Seattle arts and musical festival of the same name)
The Mountains Are Out	indication of a clear day when you can see the Cascades, Olympics, and most importantly Mt. Rainier
The Mountain	Mt. Rainier, the uber mountain in the Cascade Range
The Freeway	they are freeways out here, not highways
Sunshine Slowdown	back up of traffic on the freeway (typically I-5) when the sun comes out
Sunbreak	the hiatus during our mercurial weather days when the clouds break and that unfamiliar orange phenomenon appears in the sky
Drizzle	rain
Showers	rain
Mist	rain
Black Ice	thin treacherous coating of invisible ice coating the roads on the infrequent occasions the temperature falls below freezing
The Peninsula	the appendage of land across Puget Sound separating the West Sound region from the Pacific Ocean, and the location of the Olympic Mountains
“The Eastside”	the east side of Lake Washington, most immediately meaning Bellevue, Kirkland, Mercer Island and (based upon your perspective) perhaps Renton.
Orange County	The Eastside, a lament.
The Rock	Mercer Island
The “North Shore”	the suburbs to the North and east of Seattle. Includes Kenmore, Juanita, Bothell, Woodinville, and Redmond
The Locks	Hiram M. Crittenden Locks; a complex of locks that sit in the middle of Salmon Bay, part of Seattle's Lake Washington Ship Canal. They are known locally as the Ballard Locks after the neighborhood to their north. (Magnolia lies to the south.)
The Bluff	Magnolia Bluff. Most easily accessible through Discovery Park (the old Fort Lawton). Spectacular view of Puget Sound. Don't forget your binoculars. Also home to some of Seattle's worst mudslides.
Alki	Can refer to either Alki Point, where the first Seattle settlers first landed and settled, or to Alki Beach. Alki Beach is the most popular summer hang-out and sunbathing spot.
Belltown	between Downtown proper and Denny Street. Belltown is home to many small music clubs, art bars, and other hip places. Recently, Belltown was named as the seventh "coolest" place in the U.S.
The Artists' Republic of Fremont	Fremont, a place apart.
The Hill	Capitol Hill (topic alone for an earlier blog)
Pill Hill	First Hill, where many of Seattle's hospitals are located, not to be confused with Second Hill, which has only one hospital on it.
Broadmoor	The first walled and gated community for the exclusive in the country. Keeps the philistines from the hedgerows.
The Ave	University Way, so go figure. A hip, gritty/grungy commercial strip adjacent to UW, destination for teenagers attempting to be cool.
The Corridor	The I-5 Corridor, running from Bellingham in the north to Vancouver (WA) in the south, although some would extend it even further south, all the way to Eugene.
The Market	the Pike Place Market
Jazz Alley	Dimitriou's Jazz Alley, long-time jazz club, downtown in the Belltown/Regrade area. The entrance to the club is actually in the alley.
The Viaduct	The Alaska Way Viaduct, an ugly two-level concrete eyesore built on fill and likely to collapse in an earthquake, but the only way to quickly by-pass Downtown if the Freeway is clogged up, which it is most of the time.
The Burke-Gilman	The Burke-Gilman Trail, a rail line that has been converted into a trail for walkers, joggers, bikers, and so on.
The I.D.	the International District, formerly known as Chinatown
EMP	The Experience Music Project, Paul Allen's music museum dedicated to the history of rock-n-roll (and specifically the rock of the '60s). Site for the NACAC conference social.
Sea-Tac	Refers to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, located roughly half-way between Seattle and Tacoma, thus the name.
SODO	South of Downtown (Seattle…need you ask?)
SODO MOJO	South of Downtown Magic, often heard at Safeco and Qwest Fields
East of the Mountains	the side of Washington east of the Cascades (also a book by author, and Seattle native, David Guterson)
The Basin	Refers to the Central Washington farming region, located east of the Columbia River, that was brought to life, so to speak, by irrigation provided from the Grand Coulee dam.
The Inland Empire	the region surrounding Spokane
The Banana Belt	area around Sequim (pronounced as "squim") which is in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, resulting in a paucity of rainfall (less than 10 inches a year)
UDub	University of Washington
Wazzu	Washington State University (some at WSU consider this pejorative but a large constituency considers it endearing).
The Dawgs	University of Washington Huskies as in “go Dawgs!”
The Zags	Gonzaga University athletic teams (officially they are the “Bulldogs”, but that original mascot is overshadowed by the “alpha dog” in Seattle)
Central, Eastern, Western	Central Washington, Eastern Washington, and Western Washington Universities
UPS	University of Puget Sound (not the United Parcel Service)
PLU	Pacific Lutheran University
SPU	Seattle Pacific University
Seattle U	Seattle University (no one says SU)
The Goeducks	the Evergreen State College mascot, pronounced the Gooeyducks, after the less than attractive Pacific Northwest mollusk, a large saltwater clam
WASL	- Washington Assessment of Student Learning (there is impetus from the WA State Legislature for colleges and universities to factor the WASL in admissions decisions)
HEC Board	Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Board
WCHSCR	Washington Council for High School College Relations
PNACAC	Pacific Northwest Association for College Admission Counseling
Pho	Vietnamese rice noodle soup, pronounced “pha”
Potstickers	Chinese appetizer known in the eastern U.S. as a dumpling
Dungies	Dungeness Crabs
Salmon	wonderful, wild, fish best prepared simply. While food like, farmed Atlantic Salmon is an ersatz variety, and also an environmental nightmare
Chinook	King Salmon
Coho	silver salmon
Sockeye	red salmon
Humpback	pink salmon ( “humpies”)
Chum	- also known as dog salmon (lighest in color and fat content)
Copper River	Supposed to be the best of the best, a coho caught as part of the Copper River run.
Americano	Also known as a Caffe Americano. An espresso diluted with hot water, ideal for the lactose-intolerant.
Barista	Espresso bartender.
Breve	Short for Espresso Breve. Espresso with half-n-half or semi-skimmed milk.
Caffè Latte	Also known simply as a Latte. An espresso made with steamed milk, topped by foamed milk. The most popular espresso drink. Also the default espresso: if you ask for a "double tall," for instance, you'll get a double tall latte.
Caffè Macchiato	An espresso marked (or "stained") with a dollop (a teaspoon or two) of foamed milk. In Italian, "macchiato" can be translated as "marked," "stained," or "spotted". Starbucks defines a macchiato as "one shot of espresso in a demitasse topped with a small dollop of foamed milk."
Caffè Medici	A doppio poured over chocolate syrup and orange (and sometimes lemon) peel, usually topped with whipped cream. Formerly, the Last Exit, now gone, was one of the few places in town where you could get one of these, although I've heard recently that you can get a Caffe Medici at the Pearl, a coffee house also located on the Ave (where else?) which has been described to me as having "the spirit of the Last Exit more than the Last Exit in its final years."
Caffè Mocha	Also known simply as a Mocha. A latte with chocolate. Methods of preparation can vary, some using steamed chocolate milk, others adding chocolate to a latte. One variation tops it with whipped cream, with cocoa powder as a garnish.
Cappuccino	A shot of straight espresso with foamed milk ladled on top.
Doppio	the hip way to request a double.
Double	An espresso made from a double shot, approximately 1 1/2 - 2 ounces.
Double Cup	An espresso served in two cups, just in case one cup might be too hot to handle.
Double Double	Double cream, double sugar.
Drip	A regular coffee.
Espresso	Approximately a one-ounce shot of espresso made from Arabica beans, as opposed to Robusta beans, which are used in making regular coffee. Arabica beans, by the way, have about half the caffeine of Robusta beans. The word comes from the brewing method -- hot water is pressed by means of a piston or pump through finely ground, firmly packed coffee.
Frappuccino	A concoction developed by Starbucks, basically an iced or chilled cappuccino. Various recipes for this are floating around the Web (the actual recipe is a secret). Starbucks has also come out with a bottled version. From what I've been able to gather, it is coffee beverage made out of either espresso or regular coffee, milk, sugar, ice, and other miscellaneous optional ingredients. The bottled version may be served chilled (no ice). Also called a Frap (or Frappe).
Grande	16-ounce cup.
Short	8-ounce cup.
Shot in the Dark	A regular coffee with a shot of espresso in it. Also called a Speed Ball.
Skinny	If you want a latte made with nonfat or skim milk, just say you want it "skinny."
Soy Latte	A latte made with soy milk, instead of milk. I've been told this is also sometimes referred to as a Vegan Latte.
Tall	12-ounce cup.
Triple	Three shots, for those for whom a double just doesn't offer enough of a jolt.
Venti	A 20 oz. cup at Starbucks, apparently (taller than a tall, I guess).
With Room	With space left at top of cup for either adding cream or preventing spills (while driving 70 mph down the freeway with a latte between one's legs!).

Michael K. McKeon
Dean of Admissions
Seattle University

My NACAC 2008 Folder

noreply@blogger.com (NACAC's 64th National Conference Blog) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:41:00 +0000

The conference is just about seven weeks away and I just started my “NACAC 2008” folder. So far, it’s only got two things in it – my e-ticket to Seattle and my invitation to the NACAC Leaders and Donors Reception (Go, Imagine Fund!) – but I’m getting ready to fill it up with:

My registration confirmation e-mail (when it arrives in mid-September)

Information about my state/regional meeting

Handouts: NACAC’s going green by not printing handouts for the sessions, but I will download the ones I need before I head out to Seattle

My hotel confirmation (even though there’s still space at many conference hotels)

Vendor and Exhibitor information: Keeping the postcards in one place helps me remember events and booth locations

A copy of the conference schedule – highlighted and with post-its --

My conference badge: Like everyone who is registered for the conference by August 5, I will receive my registration materials and my badge by mail (don’t forget to update your address at http://www.nacacnet.org/ and by email conferencechange@nacacnet.org if you’ve moved and your badge needs to be updated).

They won’t fit in my folder, but I’m also bringing a water bottle (for filling at the conference’s many water stations), my business cards and comfortable shoes.

See you in Seattle!

Lisa Sohmer
Director of College Counseling
Garden School

Ecumenical Service Coordinator Needed

noreply@blogger.com (NACAC's 64th National Conference Blog) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:39:00 +0000

NACAC is seeking a coordinator for the ecumenical service being held on Saturday, September 27 from 5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. during the National Conference in Seattle. If you are interested in volunteering your time to coordinate this uplifting, non-denominational program, please contact me at bchirico@nacacnet.org or 703/299-6834. You do not need to be from the Pacific Northwest or Seattle to coordinate this program.

Thank you!
Bethany Blue Chirico, CMP
Director of Conference and Meetings
NACAC

Day Trips

noreply@blogger.com (NACAC's 64th National Conference Blog) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:20:00 +0000

I always love it when someone else does my work for me. However, in fairness to myself and -- more importantly -- the worker bee, I do attribute full credit.

So please join me in bowing our heads low to Pagliacci Pizza (voted best pizza in Seattle for 21 years, and affectionately cited in an earlier blog posting.)

My family and I are addicted to Pagliacci and please do us the favor of not advising us about the 12 step recovery program. Yes, they know my phone number; yes, they address me by name when I call (it is pretty Orwellian actually, upon calling I don't even need to give them a clue who I am first.) Like others similarly afflicted, and like them I am a recipient of the Pagliacci newsletter.

Edition XLIII of the Pagliocci Newsletter is devoted to day trips in the Puget Sound region. Allegedly it is out of recognition of the high cost of gasoline. The reality is that recipients probably spend most of their disposable income on Pagliocci 's superb pizza. There are, however, worse vices.

So noting Pagliocci's fine epicurean taste, I'd encourage you to give serious consideration to their local tourist recommendations.

Pagliocci's recommended architectural tour pays homage to Lawrence Creek, architectural writer for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and author of The Year of the Boat (BTW, both it and the Seattle Times are darned good newspapers by national standards). Mr. Creek and Pagiocci's recommend, for your consideration:

Suzzallo Library at the University of Washington: "It is a wonderful example of Collegiate Gothic style, which became popular in the early 20th century on the East Coast and in England. The architecture makes you feel very humble in the face of human achievement."

Chapel of St. Ignatius at Seattle University: "It is a small, contemporary chapel designed by Steven Holl. You have to go inside because it is the most beautiful combination of light and sculpted space in the city. It could make an agnostic a believer."

REI Flagship Store : The building design (by Mithun) is exemplary and should be a model of what that neighborhood should look like. What's great about the store is that it's the perfect marriage of high-tech aircraft hanger and a would-be lodge. It achieves amazing warmth for all those exposed bones.

Novelty Hill -- Januik Winery: The modernist-minimalist design of the winery will challenge your notion of what concrete can achieve aesthetically. It's a beautifully integrated building that offers complexity in its details and an unexpectedly inviting atmosphere.

Seattle City Hall: This building takes a modern city hall to a new level. It offers great public space inside and out, and it's designed to make people feel good about city government. In that way, the design invokes a spirit that harkens back to the old days before politicians were house in boxes. (During the summer, Seattle Presents hosts free concerts on City Hall Plaza. Visit seattle.gov for a full schedule.)

The newsletter also offers these recommendations on guided tours in Seattle:

Tour de Chocolat: You may not see an Oompa Loompa on this chocolate tour, but you'll get an insight into the psyche of Seattle's premier chocolatiers. It starts with an introduction to chocolate at Fiori Chocolatiers before a tour of Theo Chocolate. Then it's on to sampling at Fran's Chocolates and make the treats at Oh! Chocolate. You'll end with a cup of decadent hot chocolate at Chocolate Box. To make sure that the sugar high continues, you'll be sent home with a goodie bag of chocolate samples from each stop on the tour. Sweet! Bill Speidel's Underground Tour
This popular subterranean tour has been exploring the underside of Seattle since 1965. The network of passages and storefronts give a glimpse of old Seattle before city leaders took advantage of the Great Seattle Fire to raise the city 12 feet.

Chinatown Discovery Tours: This is a great introduction to Seattle's International District. You'll learn about history and customs that are part of the daily cultural life of the Asian Community. The leisurely walking tour includes visits to a museum, market and historical sites. You'll be greeted with the fragrances of Asian cuisine and the sound of Asian languages. Be sure to take advantage of the Dim-Sum lunch!

Private Eye on Seattle: This tour is reminiscent of the Jack-the-Ripper tour I once took in London. True-crime fans will be chauffeured around town, stopping at sites of Seattle crimes scenes and points of interest. Ted Bundy, Bruce Lee and Kurt Cobain are topics visited on the tour. Private Eye on Seattle also offers a ghost tour as well.

Savor Seattle Food Tours: Founder, Angela Shen, created her signature Pike Place Market tour to showcase some of her favorite vendors and their histories. Many locals who have taken the two-hour walking tour rave about how much they learned. Another great touch is that you get a high-tech earphone that allows you to actually hear the guide's commentary.

Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Factory Tour: OK. Many of you probably work for Boeing or have worked for Boeing at one time or another. For those of you who don't, you can marvel at the complexities of jet assembly on this tour. It is the only tour of its kind in North America.

Market Ghost Tours: Just about everyone who lives in the area has purchased fresh produce, fish and/or flowers at Pike Place Market at least once. The Market Ghost Tour is a unique way to explore Pike Place Market. Although a tradition during Halloween, they are offered year-round. This walking tour is based on stories of hauntings share through the community. You can even catch an improv show at Market Theater after the tour.

Ride the Ducks: It may sound a little cheesy, but when will you have another chance to drive around town then splash into the water and boat around the lake without leaving the tour bus? It may not be James Bond style transportation, but the amphibious World War II vehicles are entertaining for kids young and old.

The newsletter promotes these destinations in Hidden Seattle noting that:

"Seattleites are proud to be Seattleites, but that doesn't mean they know every inch of the Emerald City. Check out these places:

Pike Brewing Company <noted in an earlier blog posting>
This pub and brewery is tucked inside the southern end of Pike Place Market. It doubles as a beer museum with interesting articles and photos documenting the history and culture of brewing since its first written records. You may even get a crash course in beer history from the very enthusiastic owner Charles Finkel. He knows his stuff!

Klondike Gold Rush National Park: Did you know there is a national park in Pioneer Square? The Seattle Unit, as it's called, is a museum that commemorates the 1897-98 Klondike Gold Rush. It is a part of a group of sister parks that tell the story of the gold rush. The unit is replete with park rangers.

Waterfall Garden Park: This oasis in the city is a great place to have lunch or listen to the waterfall. The privately built park also marks where the United Parcel Service (UPS) was founded."

So, thanks to Pagliacci Pizza, a righteous social justice oriented business -- with a compelling story of its own -- for its spot on recommendations about what do in Seattle.

BTW, during the NACAC Conference, Pagliacci's Seasonal Pizza will be the Prosciutto Fig Primo ("figs with prosciutto, basil and mozzarella on an olive oil base for the perfect balance of lightly sweet and salty flavors." ) Sounds like a slice of heaven to me. Bon appetite.

Michael K. McKeon

Dean of Admissions

Seattle University

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NACAC President Excited About National Conference and Headquarters Move

noreply@blogger.com (NACAC's 64th National Conference Blog) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:05:00 +0000

“Summer time and the livin’ is easy,” or at least easier. Judging from the number of “out of office” replies we received with the last Bulletin, many NACAC members are taking some well-deserved time off this summer.

Although we may slow down, our work does not stop. There are orientations to plan, staff to hire, master schedules to create and fall travel to schedule.

The activity at NACAC headquarters does not stop either. We are offering several professional development opportunities this summer and looking forward to events in the year ahead.

I am particularly excited about two events in the near future: the 2008 National Conference and the NACAC headquarters move. Our Seattle conference promises to be one of our best. Writer Sherman Alexie has recently agreed to address our group. His books are wonderful and I am eager to hear him speak about his views of the world and race and racism.

The conference blog has also whet my appetite in increased anticipation for all the conference has to offer. I encourage you to subscribe and read the many posts and write your own. (Contact Kristen Bourke if you'd like to blog for us.)

PNACAC President Michael McKeon and other NACAC members have blogged not only about the high-quality educational sessions but about additional ways to enjoy your time in Seattle. Their descriptions of the sights, coffee, food and wines of Seattle will prepare you to fully enjoy all the Emerald City has to offer.

Another exciting summer activity for NACAC is the move to the new headquarter office. We outgrew our Alexandria (VA) space and have purchased new office space in Arlington (VA). The staff will make the move in early August. This is a sign of the significant growth of our association and the new facility will allow us to do even more to become the preeminent voice for professionals who assist students in their transitions to college.

I hope summer finds you with both easy livin’ and stimulating projects of your own. It will not be long before we greet our new classes and shortly thereafter we will be together in Seattle. I hope to see you there.

Kimberly Johnston
NACAC President
Senior Associate Director of Admission
The University of Maine

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Dressing Like a Native

noreply@blogger.com (NACAC's 64th National Conference Blog) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:26:00 +0000

The other day I attended a College Board leadership meeting in downtown Seattle. The men (save me) were in pinstriped suits and the women (save another Seattleite) were bejeweled and in knit suits. This was despite the fact that it was 79 degrees and all the natives were panting. I noted that while they all looked very natty that locals would immediately identify them all as visitors.

Despite the fact that Seattle is the home of Nordstrom, this is an aggressively informal city. It took me years after moving from the East Coast to lose the jacket and tie in the summer. While those working in the Washington Mutual and Columbia Towers would blend in well in Manhattan (albeit, with tasteful West Coast style) overall the people of Seattle are rigidly informal in dress. When you attend the Symphony, or even the Opera, people refuse to change out of jeans (factoid: Seattle is one of the few cities in the nation where Wagner’s The Ring of the Nibelung is regularly performed at the Opera, and it’s sold out long in advance.)

Now this doesn’t mean that Seattleites don’t give thought to their appearance; au contraire. The denizens of Capitol Hill, decked in Value Village duds, are conspicuously informal in their attire; actually it is evident that they really work at it. And, those who live in Belltown are consistently monochromatic in various chic/hip variants of black couture. Young professionals from the Eastside make pilgrimages to Abercrombie and Fitch, the Gap, or Banana Republic immediately after working out and showering. And those in Ravenna and the U District religiously incorporate native dress from Latin America, Africa, and Asia into their daily attire. Mind you, however, it’s all casual dress.

Overall, this is a Dockers, tattersall shirt, polar fleece vest sort of town (remember we are also the home of Eddie Bauer and REI.) Though you might never set foot in a forest or a park, but some form of Timberline hiking boots is essential when you aren’t wearing your pair of New Balance (sorry, Birkenstocks, while stereotype, are passé) if you live here. Jungle mocs are still common.

So when packing for the NACAC conference, leave the jacket, ties, and ladies -- the frosting – at home. Seattle is all about comfort. Think smart casual. We don’t care if it’s wrinkled; with the likely weather the wrinkles will eventually fall out.

Michael K. McKeon
Dean of Admissions
Seattle University

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Admission Middle Management Institute goes to Seattle

noreply@blogger.com (NACAC's 64th National Conference Blog) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:00:00 +0000

Even though it's a hot, humid day here in Orlando (or maybe *because* it's a hot, humid day here), I'm looking forward to another session of the Admission Middle Management Institute (AMMI) on September 23 and 24 in Seattle, just prior to the National Conference.

Every year, along with my fellow faculty and great speakers, we meet with rising admission professionals to discuss life in the "middle" of our profession. If you're no longer a counselor, have taken a bigger role in your office, and are still a step or two away from being a dean or director, AMMI is for you.

Specifically in AMMI you will:

1. Develop your problem solving skills - learn from others who face similar issues, or have already solved them and moved on to other challenges. Lots of case studies and time for informal discussions on "best practices."

2. Learn more about your personality type, as well as those of your boss and your colleagues. Become your office facilitator for DiSC, and use it at a future staff retreat.

3. Hear from guest experts. Come hear from admission veterans as they talk about their careers from a professional development and leadership perspective. This year, our guest experts will be Nanci Tessier from the University of Richmond and Bob Massa from Dickinson College.

4. Come visit the coffee capital of the world - Seattle. AMMI will be a great way to start the national conference too!

For me, attending AMMI in 1999 myself was the single most significant professional development experience in 16 years in college admission. We talked about issues beyond the daily office routine, thought deeply about our own places in the profession, and made professional connections that I continue to enjoy to this day. AMMI was a great boost for my outlook on my career and my understanding of the work that a office leader needs to accomplish.
Here are what some of our more recent participants have had to say about AMMI too:

AMMI allowed me the opportunity to brainstorm with colleagues at other institutions and work with a caring and experienced faculty, while also hearing from some true leaders in the field. I gained both perspective as well as new mentors and walked away from the experience re-energized.
- Cristan Trahey, American University

One of the most valuable lessons from AMMI was how to adapt to a role in which I needed to manage my workload to both my supervisor and to those whom I was managing. I learned how to use my strengths to gain advancement and earn more opportunities toward further professional growth within my institution and beyond. The faculty at AMMI offered me ongoing guidance and support as my professional career evolves. After all these years, I still consider the faculty true mentors and friends!
- Jillian Rothschild-Scholar, Argosy University

AMMI provides useful tips/advice from knowledgeable facilitators, plus the chance to connect with twenty other Assistant/Associate Directors from across the country. The institute is very interactive---you spend time in groups working through real challenges/issues that experienced admissions professionals face nearly every day.
- Kyle Downey, Cornell University

If you are "in the middle" of your admission office, please join us.
More information is available on the NACAC web site and the AMMI faculty blog.

See you in Seattle,

Rob Springall, AMMI Co-director
Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions
University of Central Florida Orlando

The Science of College Admission

noreply@blogger.com (NACAC's 64th National Conference Blog) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:16:00 +0000

At times, college admission feels a bit like baseball. There are millions of people who watch us—students, parents, school leaders, faculty, media, policymakers, interest groups—and love to discuss our every move. However, there is one group of observers whose interest is particularly valuable, and those are the academic researchers who study admission.

Like baseball, thousands of researchers crunch admission data and issue findings of significance to the profession. Such reports come from likely sources, such as the American Educational Research Association, Association for the Study of Higher Education, and the Association for Institutional Research, and less likely sources, such as the American Economic Association and the American Mathematical Society. NACAC pays close attention to academic journals, and regularly disseminates information about the latest research through its weekly Research Updates.

This year’s NACAC conference features sessions by authors of recent academic studies, including presentations on the effect of high school feeder networks on access and recruitment (Greg Wolniak and Mark Engberg), financial aid and admission (Donald E. Heller), using economic concepts to inform admission decisions (Stephen DesJardins), and recruiting Native American students (Michael Pavel).

Studies like these may form the basis for tomorrow’s admission strategies, so I look forward to joining you in learning more about these important observations on our work.

David Hawkins
Director of Public Policy and Research

NACAC

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Should I Bring an Umbrella?

noreply@blogger.com (NACAC's 64th National Conference Blog) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:50:00 +0000

Okay, let’s address the pink elephant in the middle of the room. When Seattle comes up in conversation everyone wants to know about the weather. Now, while admittedly it does rain a good number of days here, let the record reflect that, no, we don’t all have webbed feet. And, let me share a factoid that Seattleites are prone to frequently share: in terms of annual precipitation both Chicago and New York experience more total rain fall than Seattle. It just rains here more often – but in smaller amounts. And, the Puget Sound region occasionally has summer draughts, and even water conservation (FYI: our water supply actually comes from the mountains and is contingent upon snow fall.) That’s why this is such a green city, hence the moniker the Emerald City. A typical “rainy” day, however, consists of fluctuating periods of mist, drizzle, showers, and sun breaks (described in an earlier blog entry.)

As the boilerplate states “The Puget Sound Region has a mild, moist climate. This is sometimes called a marine (ocean) climate because of the closeness of the Pacific Ocean. The mild ocean water keeps a constant temperature, not too hot or cold. This keeps the air and land nearby at mild temperatures.”

Okay, enough of the official line from the tourist bureau (actually, however, rumor has it that Seattleites intentionally exaggerate the rain when speaking with enchanted visitors to discourage more migration here…)

I imagine you want to know what the weather is apt to be like in late September during the conference. Well I wouldn’t venture a guess due to the mercurial nature of our weather in September. However, if you don’t like the weather we recommend that you simply wait 15 minutes and then it is sure to change.

Anyway, in September the average high temperature is 70 degrees; the average low is 52. On average we get 1.63 inches of rain (but who’s counting?) and there will be rain nine of the month’s 30 days. Seattleites smugly state that you can always tell a visitor because he is the one carrying the umbrella.

While our adaptation to our “marine” climate is one of the reasons most people wear polar fleece (easily brushed off or wrung out), natives actually do employ umbrellas, but typically only when it actually rains (as opposed to doing so during mist, drizzle, or light showers). So, don’t bring an umbrella, they are actually available for sale here.

And by the way, the local term for umbrella is bumbershoot, also the name of our famous urban music and arts festival at the Seattle Center, scheduled this year August 30th through September 1.

Michael K. McKeon
Dean of Admissions
Seattle University

Summer: A Time to Reflect and Plan Ahead

noreply@blogger.com (NACAC's 64th National Conference Blog) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 20:47:00 +0000

Like many of the rest of you might be, I’m in summer mode and actually taking a little time away from work for a few days so it’s hard to remember that in a few months we’ll all be gathered in Seattle for the NACAC National Conference.

When our fiscal year started on July 1, I was able to work with our business manager and get all of our counselors registered and hooked up with hotel rooms, etc. Special thanks to the kind staff at NACAC who helped me navigate that process of registering multiple people – not online because like a fool I failed to get their NACAC log-ins and passwords before they scattered for the summer! Note to self for next year: get all of that information so it can be done online, it’s SO much easier. For any of you who have not yet registered, online is the way to go. (Sidebar NOTE: Early bird registration ends on July 11! Then registration prices go up! Have you registered yet?) Now we’re looking at plane tickets and making sure that we leave enough time to visit some colleges/universities while we’re in Seattle.

High school counselors: if you need to make a case with your business office or whomever allows you to spend money on professional development, remind them that spending a few extra days in a hotel when you’ve already paid for a plane ticket is MUCH cheaper than paying for a completely new ticket to Seattle plus a hotel room again.

An administrator of mine pointed that out to me a few years ago and it makes so much sense. It might also be easier to just block out an entire week to be out of the office rather than four days here and three days there. But that all depends on your schedule and how your office is staffed.

I also think that July is the perfect time for reflection. Usually the “housekeeping” details of the office –sending final transcripts, updating transcripts for the coming year, updating Naviance, etc—have been taken care of and you might actually find yourself with some time to think.

Maybe it’s a good time to sort through all of those emails from the NACAC Elist that you carefully filed away (or not?) because you thought they had good ideas in them. Glancing at them in July usually gives you enough time to actually put some plans in place if you want to set any of the ideas in motion for the coming school year.

When I did this a week ago, I found myself making a list of things I wanted to learn more about, or things I wanted to follow up on when I was with my colleagues at NACAC. I have not yet compared my list of topics to discuss with the conference schedule but I’m confident that many of the items will overlap with things that others want to discuss. That is perhaps the best part about NACAC, the ability to have conversations with colleagues who are in your shoes, or sit on the other side of the desk and can shed some light on your situation.

So, that’s my advice for this mid-July blog posting: reflect and think about where you want your program to go in the 2008-09 school year, and then plan to use the NACAC conference to the fullest degree to find answers to your questions and share your ideas with others.

Happy summer!

Elizabeth Guice
Director of College Counseling and Registrar

St. Andrew's Episcopal School
Austin, TX