College to Celebrate AV Week Oct. 17-23

Westminster College will celebrate International Audio Visual Week, Oct. 17-23, with a series of campus events that are free and open to the public.

This year's theme is centered around a responsible, less paper-dependent lifestyle that eliminates much of the paper from our lives while facilitating organization and communication.

During AV Week, a host of companies and organizations around the world will celebrate with special events at schools, job fairs, and community outreach activities. To learn more about the AV industry, visit www.infocomm.org.

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, Westminster College President Dr. Richard Dorman, and New Wilmington Mayor Wendell Wagner, a 1955 Westminster graduate, issued proclamations celebrating the integration of the AV industry throughout society.

Westminster's Office of AV Services will celebrate with a number of projects including:

- A presentation on the AV industry's 11-recession survival streak will be given Tuesday, Oct. 19, at 9:30 a.m. in the AV Classroom (McKelvey Campus Center room 180) by Don Rosenberger, president of Dobil Laboratories, Inc., a full-service audio visual systems integrator in Pittsburgh.
- PNC's Virtual Wallet, a user-friendly online banking program, will be presented Tuesday at 12:50 p.m. in the AV Classroom by Drew McDowell, PNC's New Castle branch manager.
- Diane Bugno will demonstrate Turning Technologies, Inc.'s response clickers and how their new technology can enhance education and office functions Tuesday at 2 p.m. in the AV Classroom.
- The top 10 entries in the Titan Terror Project, a short-film contest that challenged contestants to tell a thrilling story without the use of gore, will be showcased Wednesday, Oct. 20, at noon in the Sebastian Mueller Theater of the McKelvey Campus Center.
- "Are You Smarter Than a First-Year?" game show will put faculty, first-year students, and the audience in competition, using response clickers to key in answers Thursday, Oct. 21, at 12:30 p.m. in Mueller Theater.
- Dr. Keith Corso, Westminster assistant professor of communication studies, will demonstrate Apple, Inc.'s iPad and its most effective tools Thursday at 2:30 p.m. in the AV Classroom.
- AV's 11th annual Gently Used Equipment Hand-Off Drive will begin Friday, Oct. 22, to distribute used-but-still-useful equipment that can continue to provide educational support in a new setting.
- The Outstanding and Dedicated AV Media Support Services Award, open to all qualifying Westminster alumni, will be presented Friday at 4 p.m. in the AV Office (McKelvey Campus Center room 181).

In conjunction with Make a Difference Day, AV Week 2010 will wrap up Saturday, Oct. 23, with the third E-Recycling Drive from 9 a.m.-noon at the loading dock area of the Hoyt Science Resources Center. The campus and community are encouraged to dispose of used electronics in a way that is safe for the environment. Disposal fees range from $5-$12, depending upon the item.

Since its inception at Westminster, the drive has collected nearly 5,400 pounds of outdated technology for recycling by A GreenSpan, an E-Steward recycler who does not export materials. Through recycling events and other activities, AV Services has become a source of green information for the campus and was recently featured on Project Green AV's website for its efforts.

Contact Gary Swanson, Westminster director of AV Services, at (724) 946-7188 or e-mail gswanson@westminster.edu for additional information. A complete schedule of events is available at www.westminster.edu/resources/av/av_overview.cfm.