January
22, 2004
1. U reacts
to governor’s
capital budget proposal
2. Getting mental health research into the
field sooner
3. Remembering a leader
4. Inhaling tobacco smoke in public places
5. Writing a winner
6. Assisted living, the virtual way
7. You can’t
be too careful…
8. Training new judges
9. Black voice on campus
10. U of M Happenings
11. Links
UNEWS
U
reacts to governor’s capital budget
proposal
University of Minnesota officials are disappointed
with Governor Tim Pawlenty’s $76.6
million capital budget proposal, released
last week, which funds less than half of
the $155.5 million in state bonding the University
needs.
“After the devastating budget reductions
the University experienced last year, I am
deeply
disappointed in this recommendation,” says
University president Bob Bruininks. “We
put forth a responsible, modest plan to address
long-term infrastructure needs and take care
of our classrooms, laboratories, and other
educational and research facilities. We cannot
provide a 21st century education in 20th
century facilities.”
The governor recommends that the University
receive $38 million of the $90 million it
needs for health, safety, and maintenance
improvements. As well, the governor recommends
funding for only three of the six major building
restoration projects the University requested.
The University has more than 800 buildings--65
percent of them are more than 30 years old
and 25 percent are more than 70 years old.
At the Legislative Network briefing today
(Thursday, January 22, from 5:30 to 8:30
p.m.), Bruininks will explain the importance
of the University’s capital request
and why citizens should ask their legislators
to support the U. Those who attend the free
event, which will be held at the McNamara
Alumni Center on the Twin Cities campus in
Minneapolis, will also receive an advocacy
kit to help them communicate with their legislators.
For more information on the briefing, see http://www1.umn.edu/groots/LegBriefing.php.
“Minnesota cannot afford to squander
our future by starving higher education,” said
Bruininks, pledging to take the University’s
case directly to the Legislature.
To learn more about the U’s capital
request, see www.umn.edu/govrel. For information
about how you can support the U through the
Legislative Network, see www.supporttheu.umn.edu.
--University of Minnesota News Service
Return
to top Getting
mental health research into the field
sooner
On average, it takes 15 years
to get the latest mental health research
from the
laboratory and into the hands of professionals
working in local communities. But, thanks
to the U’s new Center of Excellence
in Children’s Mental Health that
will launch next week, that should soon
change.
The
center is a virtual entity
made up of researchers,
mental health professionals,
and community members who are focused
on
the emotional health and well-being of
Minnesota children. “One
of the center’s main objectives
is to promote the kind of dialogue that
gets
research into the field,” says
Yvonne Godber, educational psychology
instructor
and center coordinator.
The center will sponsor regular discussions
and events and serve as a resource, pulling
together research from around the nation
related to youth mental health. Currently,
research at academic institutions takes
a long time to reach health care providers
and the public because it is so widespread,
says Godber. Through the center, the U
hopes to connect researchers with their
peers who are conducting related studies
and with people working directly in the
mental health profession. The latter group
can give the researchers a better sense
of mental health services that work, she
adds.
Susan Hagstrum, who served in leadership
positions in K-12 education for 27 years
and provides leadership consulting to
nonprofit organizations, will chair the
center’s
steering committee. Hagstrum is also Bruininks’s
wife. The center is an important action
step in the President’s Initiative
on Children, Youth, and Families, which
aims to focus University resources, including
its faculty expertise and research, on
issues facing children, youth, and families.
The U’s Children, Youth, and Family
Consortium will oversee the center.
The January 30 event to launch the center
is free and open to the public, but it’s
geared toward researchers, policy makers,
and professionals working on issues related
to youth mental health. The event will
be held at 1 p.m. in Black Bear Crossings
on the Lake Pavilion Place Meeting Center
in St. Paul. To reserve a place, e-mail cmh@umn.edu or call 612-625-9070.
To learn more about the Center of Excellence
in Children’s Mental Health, see http://www.cyfc.umn.edu/features/kickoff.pdf.
For information about the President’s
Initiative on Children, Youth, and Families, http://www.umn.edu/pres/cyf.html.
--University of Minnesota News Service
Return to top
Remembering
a leader
The University of Minnesota School of Music is celebrating
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy with its annual Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. Memorial Concert on Sunday, February 1, at 4 p.m.
in the
Ted Mann Concert Hall. The event is free and open to the public.
When the U’s Martin Luther King, Jr. concert began in 1980,
it was the only tribute of its kind in Minnesota. The University
now schedules the concert two weeks following the national King holiday
to avoid competing with other local events honoring Dr. King.
The
U of M School of
Music presents
its annual Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr.
Memorial Concert
on Sunday, Feb. 1.
|
The
event, hosted in partnership
with the U’s Office for Multicultural
and Academic Affairs, honors the life and accomplishments of the
legendary civil rights crusader through music and dance. This year’s
lineup will feature performers from the University as well as
professional artists from the Twin Cities community, including
a capella hip-hop
group 7 Days, youth choir CitySongs, and the Reginald Buckner
Jazz Ensemble--named for the late University professor who founded
the
annual MLK event. The concert, which will be approximately 90
minutes with an intermission, will culminate in a performance
by critically
acclaimed singer Robert Robinson and the Twin Cities Community
Gospel Choir.
“This annual concert has always been a highlight among the many tributes
to Dr. King,” says School of Music interim director Barbara
Reid. “It’s a wonderful way for the University and
the community, performers and the public, to come together in
his memory.”
For directions to the Ted Mann Concert Hall on the Twin Cities campus
in Minneapolis, see www.music.umn.edu.
--Christopher James, School of Music
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to top
Inhaling
tobacco smoke in public places
University of Minnesota researchers
found increased levels of a tobacco-specific
lung carcinogen, NNK, in nonsmokers
after they spent time in a public
setting where smoking is allowed.
A
new study by
University researchers
is the
first to measure tobacco-specific
carcinogens in nonsmokers
exposed to environmental
tobacco smoke in a
public setting. |
Researchers
at the U’s Cancer
Center tested the urine of
18 nonsmokers before
and after a four-hour
visit
to a casino where they spent
nearly all their time
in the designated
smoking area. The research
showed that levels of
NNK in the participants
increased 112 percent. Previous
animal
studies have shown that NNK
is a major pulmonary
carcinogen in rodents
and a probable human carcinogen.
“Environmental tobacco smoke
(ETS) in restaurants, bars, and casinos
presents a potential health hazard
to employees and nonsmoking patrons,” says
lead author Kristin Anderson, associate
professor in the School of Public
Health. “However, further
studies are needed to examine
the long-term
health effects on employees
and patrons of transient exposure
to ETS.”
This study by University researchers
is the first to measure tobacco-specific
carcinogens in nonsmokers exposed
to ETS in a public setting. In a
previous study, U researchers examined
tobacco carcinogens in nonsmoking
women who were exposed to secondhand
smoke at home. According to findings
from that study, women living with
smoking partners had five to six
times higher mean levels of tobacco-specific
compounds than women with nonsmoking
partners.
The current study is published in
the December 22 Cancer Epidemiology
Biomarkers and Prevention.
--Academic Health Center Return
to top
Writing
a winner
Alumnus Brad Stokes was so busy with work
last fall that he didn’t think he
had time to enter the University of Minnesota
Alumni Association’s musical cheer
contest. But Stokes, who writes short musical
pieces for corporations and major sports
teams, came up with the winning cheer at
his son’s football practice.
Alumnus
Brad Stokes came up with the
winning cheer. |
“Before my son even got in the car
I had called [my wife] and sung the first
six
measures,” recalls Stokes. His winning
cheer will be unveiled during the alumni
association’s 100th birthday party
on Friday, January 30, at the McNamara
Alumni Center. (See www.alumni.umn.edu/100 for more information about the event.) Stokes (B.S. ’84); his wife, Heidi;
and a friend, Phil Aaron, own Minneapolis-based
Aaron/Stokes Music and Sound. For Stokes,
his work is a synthesis of his interests
in music, electrical engineering, and business.
Those passions--each of which was his college
major at some point--came together in his
years at the University. While he ultimately
earned a degree in business, Stokes continued
to take courses in acoustics and other
technical aspects of music. “I am
one person who uses his college education
every day,” he says. “I’m
very proud of my degree and of my alma
mater.”
The contest judges chose Stokes’s
cheer over dozens of entries because they
thought it would work best with a band
and an arena full of fans. Stokes says
the proof that he wrote a “winning” cheer
won’t come until he hears it live
at a sporting event. “I’m never
really finished with a project until I
see how the audience responds.”
--University of Minnesota Alumni Association
Return to top
Assisted living,
the virtual way
Elderly people will have better access to health care services
if a new University of Minnesota program, now being studied, works. Virtual
Assisted
Living Umbrella for the Elderly (VALUE) combines videoconferencing and
Internet technology with home monitoring devices to connect elders living
at home with health care providers.
Although telemedicine--linking patients with doctors by video and telephone--has
been around for a while, the concept is relatively new to the world of
assisted living.
Stuart
Speedie,
U of M laboratory medicine
and pathology professor and co-principal
investigator for the study. |
Stuart
Speedie, laboratory medicine and pathology
professor and co-principal investigator
for the study, says the U’s VALUE
program is a way for frail and elderly
individuals to retain their independence
and avoid
a nursing home. They could continue to live in their homes and enjoy
familiar surroundings with just a telephone, computer, and Internet
access, he says.
The U’s Medical School is working with Volunteers of America of
Minnesota and TriCounty Hospital in Wadena on this project. Both organizations
serve areas with an increasing elderly population and limited affordable
assisted-living facilities. University researchers will direct the study
and, through a randomized trial, evaluate the impact of VALUE in supporting
a participant’s ability to remain in an independent living situation.
If successful, this telemedicine program would serve as a model for implementing
similar services nationwide. The study is funded by a $1 million grant
from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
--Academic Health Center
Return
to top
You
can’t be too
careful…
Food may
be “finger-lickin’” good,
but keep those licked
fingers out of the
food you’re
preparing. And, if
like all good cooks,
you taste as you
go along, use a clean
spoon every time.
The University of
Minnesota Extension
Service offers these
tips on preventing
food contamination
while you cook.
- Wash
your hands, including the areas
between your
fingers, with soap and hot
water. If you
use your hands to mix
food, clean
under your fingernails
with a brush.
If you have broken
skin or burns on your
hands, wear
disposable plastic gloves.
-
Take
off rings or other jewelry when
you prepare
food. Uncooked particles
can stick
in the crevices of the
jewelry and contaminate the
food that’s
being served.
- Keep
clean hands away
from your
mouth, nose, and hair. Stifle
sneezes and coughs
with a tissue and
wash your hands
again. If you have a cold
or flu, try to
stay out of the kitchen
or use utensils
instead of your hands to
touch food.
- Wash
your hands thoroughly before touching
vegetables of fruit if you’ve
worked
with raw meat.
- Always wash your
hands after going
to the bathroom
or touching garbage,
poisons, cleaning
supplies, or
anything that soils your
hands. This rule also applies
to any contact
you have with your pet
and its dishes
or bedding.
For
more tips on safe food handling,
see http://www.extension.umn.edu/info-u/nutrition/BJ775.html or
call Info-U,
the University
of Minnesota’s
prerecorded
household-tip
service, at
612-624-2200
or 1-800-525-8636.
Return
to top
Training
new judges
Through the Judicial Trial Skills
Training Program at the U’s Law School,
law professor Stephen Simon has equipped
more
than 300 newly appointed judges with an
arsenal of tools necessary to conduct a
fair and efficient trial.
The
Honorable Leland Bush ('76) and attorneys
Albert Goins
('80) and Tammi Fredrickson participating
in the Judicial Trial
Skills Training Program at the U's
Law School on June 28, 2002. |
The program, which began in 1982 as one
of the first of its kind in the country,
was established at the request of the Minnesota
Supreme Court Office of Continuing Education.
At the core of the program is a simulated
trial in which new judges are videotaped
while handling a variety of challenging
situations. Actors and actual lawyers,
assuming the various roles of prosecutor,
defense attorney, witnesses, and jury members,
stage a scripted scene that includes foul
language and a fake gun.
“Participants come with great trepidation,” says
Simon, who founded and directs the program. “They
know that we’ll be raising more issues
than they can deal with.”
Following the hour-long simulation, all
the participants meet with an experienced
judge who provides a critique, and they
assess each individual’s methods
of maintaining order and civility in the
courtroom.
“That’s the challenging part of being
a trial judge,” says Simon. “The
ability to maintain decorum in the courtroom,
to keep the trial focused, to regulate
the conduct of attorneys who may be very
involved in their case or to deal with
an inexperienced lawyer.”
To learn more about the Judicial Trial
Skills Training Program, call the Law School
at 612-625-1000.
--edited from an original story by
Joel Hoekstra in Law Alumni News, fall/winter
2003.
Return
to top
Black
voice on campus
University of Minnesota senior
Gladys Mambo wanted black students
to have
more of a voice on the Twin Cities
campus. So last fall, she started The
Griot, a newsletter devoted to black
culture and campus news.
U
of M senior Gladys Mambo is also
president of the U's African
Student Association.
|
With
help from other black students, Mambo
produced a 12-page newsletter
with pages dedicated to politics, health
issues, personal relationships, reviews
of music and movies, poetry, and events
on and off campus. About 300 copies
of that inaugural issue were distributed.
Mambo, president of the U’s African
Student Association, says that after
two issues response continues to be
positive. The Griot is named after
the West African word for storyteller.
“The newsletter is very much in its
embryonic stages, but we are hoping
that [future issues] will be even bigger
and better,” says Mambo, who
is majoring in political science and
English. “It’s a lot of
work [putting an issue together], but
I feel that black students in general
need space to express themselves creatively.”
Mambo came to Minnesota from Cameroon
four years ago. She is also vice president
of the Black Student Union and a forum
chair for the Minnesota Programs and
Activities Council, a University student
organization that brings noted speakers
to campus.
To learn more about The Griot, e-mail
Mambo at mamb0003@umn.edu.
--University of Minnesota News Service
Return
to top
HAPPENINGS
Greenery on
air
Upcoming episodes of the "Prairie
Yard & Garden" show
will feature homegrown vegetables
and unwanted bugs. Tonight
(January 22)
at 7:30 p.m., host Sue Gooch
will speak with Larry and Mary
Larson from
Willmar, Minn, about growing
vegetables for the local farmer's
market. On Thursday, January
29, U entomologist Jeff Hahn
will take viewers
on a garden tour and discuss
insect-control methods. "Prairie
Yard and Garden" is produced
by University of Minnesota,
Morris's Media Services Department
and
airs on Pioneer Public Television,
channel 10 (KWCM) or 20 (KSMN).
For
this season's full schedule,
http://www.mrs.umn.edu/pyg/.
Michelangelo at work
Bestselling author Ross King
will discuss his book, Michelangelo
and the Pope’s Ceiling,
on Monday, January 26, at 7
p.m. in the U Bookstore at
Coffman Memorial Union on the
Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis.
The book chronicles the four
years Michelangelo worked on
the Sistine Chapel in Rome,
including his personal struggles
with health, finances, and
his lack of fresco experience.
King will sign copies of his
book and answer questions following
his discussion and slide presentation.
The event is free and open
to the public. For more information
or to order an autographed
copy of King’s book,
see http://www.bookstore.umn.edu/genref/authors.html.
Creating an encyclopedia
Over a period of many years,
artist Sue Johnson has developed “The
Alternate Encyclopedia,” a
collection of objects and her
prints, drawings, and paintings.
The installation will be on
display Tuesday, January 27,
through Sunday, March 28, at
the Tweed Museum on the Duluth
campus. “The idea to
create a fully fictitious encyclopedia
came to me when I realized
that I could entertain my desire
for the fantastic while maintaining
my interest in the pursuit
of objective truths,” says
Johnson. For more information,
call the museum at 218-726-8222
or see http://www.d.umn.edu/tma/.
Biodiversity 911
Learn what biodiversity is,
why it’s declining, and
how you can protect it by visiting
the “Biodiversity 911:
Saving Life on Earth” exhibit
at the Bell Museum of Natural
History on the Twin Cities
campus in Minneapolis. The
exhibit, which runs Saturday,
January 31, through Sunday,
May 2, will feature a film
by Aardman Animations, the
Academy Award-winning creator
of the movie Chicken Run.
The museum will also host a “Biodiversity
Family Day” with special
demonstrations on Saturday,
January 31, from 1 to 5 p.m.
Admissions to the museum is
$5 for adults and $3 for children
under 16 and seniors. To learn
more, see http://www.bellmuseum.org/temp_exhibits.html.
Sip tea by the fireplace
Enjoy a three-course tea complete
with sweets and savories such
as homemade scones topped with
lemon curd and Devonshire cream
on Wednesdays through March
31 in the cozy Fireplace Room
at the Minnesota Landscape
Arboretum in Chaska. The cost
is $20 and reservations are
required. Call 952-443-1411.
For general information, see
http://www.arboretum.umn.edu/.
Return
to top
LINKS
Hey, Sports Fans! Check out sports
news and schedules of the U's teams:
Gophers
Duluth
Bulldogs
Morris
Cougars
Crookston
Golden
Eagles
Give
to the U: Make
an online gift
to the college
or program
of your choice.
University
of Minnesota
Alumni Association: Your
membership
makes a difference.
U
of M Legislative
Network: Read
about the University's
legislative
request and
how you can
help.
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of Minnesota
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