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Vol. XXXVII No. 36; Nov. 14, 2007
Editor: Gayla Marty, brief@umn.edu
Read Brief on the Web at http://www.umn.edu/umnnews/Publications/Brief/Brief_11142007.html.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The next issue of Brief will be published Nov. 28. The deadline to submit items is Nov. 21.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
--Interdisciplinary network, formed to share best practices and
shape policy, will meet Nov. 19.
--International Education Week: Study abroad number ranks high
nationally and is growing.
--Civil Service Committee met in Morris.
--People: President Bruininks will chair NASULGC board of
directors; two nursing professors elected to the American Academy
of Nursing; and more.
Campus Announcements and Events
University-wide | Crookston |
Duluth | Morris | Rochester | Twin Cities
INTERDISCIPLINARY NETWORK: When Ray Newman studies a new aquatic
species entering a Minnesota river or lake, he's in deep water in
more ways than one. Newman has overcome significant challenges to
accomplish interdisciplinary work that led to a new, federally
funded freestanding minor involving faculty from 16 departments. In
the process, he has learned a lot that could help others across the
U overcome similar challenges. That's why Newman is one of nearly
200 faculty, staff, and postdoctoral fellows across the system who
have joined the Network of Interdisciplinary Initiatives, which
will meet Nov. 19, 3-5 p.m., at UMTC and UMD. Read more in
"At
the front lines of interdisciplinary inquiry."
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION WEEK: UMTC ranks sixth in the nation for
the number of students who study abroad, according to the 2007
Open Doors report on international student mobility,
released Nov. 12. Study abroad as well as international student
numbers are up. Dozens of events are scheduled U-wide to celebrate
the week, Nov. 12-16. Read the
news release. A new undergraduate study abroad requirement, the
first of its kind among public universities, is one of several
curriculum changes announced by the Carlson School of Management
this fall; read the
announcement.
THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMITTEE MET IN MORRIS Oct. 25. Chancellor
Johnson welcomed the group, and after the business meeting, they
heard about UMM's green campus initiatives from physical plant
director Lowell Rasmussen and toured the campus. Read a
review.
PEOPLE: President Bruininks will chair the board of directors for
the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant
Colleges (NASULGC) for a one-year term; nursing professors
Christine Mueller and Linda Olson Keller have been elected to the
American Academy of Nursing; Humphrey Institute senior fellow
emerita Arvonne Fraser received an Outstanding Achievement Award
Nov. 6; and more. Read about these and more awards and appointments
in People.
CAMPUS ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS
NOMINATIONS FOR DISTINGUISHED McKNIGHT UNIVERSITY PROFESSORSHIPS
are invited by the Graduate School and the Office of the Provost.
The awards support the U's most outstanding mid-career faculty
members who have recently achieved full-professor status. Deadline:
Jan. 7. See more
information, including nomination instructions.
RESEARCH AND CREATIVE COLLABORATIVES, through the Institute for
Advanced Study, support research and creative projects of
interdisciplinary teams of researchers, scholars, and artists. This
year, the work of 28 faculty conveners from 19 departments and 9
colleges in 10 interdisciplinary collaboratives is being supported.
Deadline for 2008-09: Feb. 1. See more
information.
ACADEMIC AND CORPORATE RELATIONS CENTER received the Tekne Award
for Innovative Collaboration Nov. 1. The center serves as an access
point to U resources for industries. See the
news release.
PLANS FOR A TRIBUTE TO MINNESOTA VETERANS, past, present, and
future, in the new Gopher stadium will be unveiled at UMTC Student
Veterans Appreciation Day events today, beginning at 11:30 a.m.,
Northrop Plaza. Information will be posted on the stadium Web site.
THE 2006 SHAPE SURVEY by the School of Public Health (SPH) and
Hennepin County is the third in a series of nationally recognized
surveys to collect information on the health of the county,
Minnesota residents, and factors that affect their health. More
than 10,000 households completed the survey, yielding information
on 8,000 adults and 4,000 children. Learn more about possible
research initiatives and student projects using SHAPE data,
including how to access the data, in a presentation by the
Hennepin-University Partnership. Opening comments by SPH dean John
Finnegan and Hennepin County Public Health Division director Todd
Monson. Nov. 27, 1:30-3 p.m., D199 Mayo Building. Register by Nov.
21 at biel0032@umn.edu . Read
more about the SHAPE survey.
"TREE-OLOGY" REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS: The Minnesota Landscape
Arboretum's summer 2008 juried exhibition will give a fresh look at
trees in today's world with interactive public art along a
tree-lined walk for visitors of all ages. A mandatory pre-proposal
meeting will be held for artists and design firms interesting in
entering works. Nov. 29, 1-3 p.m., at the arboretum's Oswald
Visitor Center. Register by Nov. 28: e-mail dreez001@umn.edu or call
952-443-1425. See the
call for entries.
FREE THURSDAYS AT THE MINNESOTA LANDSCAPE ARBORETUM have begun and
continue through April 24. The arboretum will also remain open
until 8 p.m. on Thursdays Nov. 29-Dec. 20. The auxiliary holiday
sale will be Dec. 1-2. See the arboretum.
WRITING CENTER OPEN HOUSE, open to the community, will be Nov.
15, with a ribbon cutting at 2 p.m., 270 Owen Hall. See the
news
release.
THE MINNESOTA BOARD OF TEACHING is visiting Nov. 11-14 to evaluate
UMC's proposal for institutional licensure to offer teacher
education programs beyond the early childhood education program,
birth through third grade, currently offered in cooperation with
Bemidji State U. Preparation for the visit has been led by faculty
members Soo-Yin Lim-Thompson, Marilyn Grave, and Marsha Odom. Read
more about the early
childhood education program.
GROWTH OF ONLINE DEGREE PROGRAMS AND HEALTH-RELATED DEGREE
CURRICULUM--cooperative efforts with the Crookston Area Health
Education Center (AHEC), in particular--were the topics of a campus
faculty and staff visit Nov. 5 with vice provost and senior VP for
academic affairs Billie Wahlstrom and assistant VP of Academic
Health Center special programs Barbara Brandt.
"FROM DREAMS MAY WE LEARN" exhibition artist Robert Rabbett
Before Horses Strickland, an Ojibwe artist and member of
Wisconsin's Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, models his
work after Renaissance masters and focuses on narrating Ojibwe
mythology. He will speak Nov. 20, 6 p.m., lecture gallery, Tweed
Museum of Art. Free; the public is cordially invited. The
exhibition runs through Feb. 24. See exhibit
information.
"NORTHERN LIGHTS," an introduction to the cause and character of
auroras, will be presented as part of a weekly series, with a
chance to stargaze using the Spitz A3P Star Machine. Nov. 21, 7
p.m., Marshall W. Alworth Planetarium. Programs are presented by
planetarium staff, members of the Arrowhead Astronomical Society,
or visiting professors. See the planetarium.
ANNUAL UMM/CITY OF MORRIS OCTOBER BREAST CANCER AWARENESS
FUND-RAISER helped to raise awareness and more than $750 for the
Susan G. Komen for the Cure effort this year. More than 50 UMM
student, staff, and faculty volunteers and off-campus residents
knitted and crocheted scarves and hats to sell in the Student
Center. See the news
release.
A NEW WEATHER STATION, installed on top of the Science Building
this year, is contributing to the Citizen's Weather Observation
Program, which feeds climatic data to NASA and more than 4,000
universities and research institutions worldwide. It's also being
used in physics classes. See the news
release.
ROCHESTER-BASED U SCHOOL OF NURSING STUDENTS have provided more than 350 influenza vaccinations for members of the community and staff over the past two weeks and will continue through December. Ten senior nursing students are providing the vaccinations as part of an elective course in nursing, Immunizations for Populations. UMR students and staff have been working with Olmsted County public health influenza clinics and the Boynton Health Service to provide the service.
STUDENT VETERANS APPRECIATION DAY will honor veterans and
highlight U initiatives to ease the transition to college life.
Today's celebration--which will include a visit by Gov. Tim
Pawlenty and an F-16 flyover--will begin at 11:30 a.m. on Northrop
plaza. All veterans and their family members, faculty, staff,
students, and the public are invited. A free chili lunch will be
served in the Northrop Auditorium atrium while supplies last, and
the program will begin at 12:15 p.m. The flyover is scheduled for 1
p.m. Read more about the
event and new campus initiatives.
NEW PLANT PATHOLOGY RESEARCH FACILITY, 1907 Dudley Avenue, St.
Paul, was dedicated Nov. 7. The $6 million facility is one of four
in the nation, joining facilities in Maryland, Florida, and Hawaii.
The project, built with U, state, federal, and private funding, is
expected to draw scientists from institutions around the world to
study infectious crop diseases and ways to manage them. See the
news release, and read more in "Putting
pathogens in their place."
EDUCATION SCIENCES BUILDING: PUBLIC ART entitled Garden of
Mirrors, by assistant professor of art Andrea Stanislav, was
installed Nov. 11 in the courtyard overlooking the river. The
project incorporates Iron Range rock in tribute to the building's
history as the site where the process for refining taconite was
invented. Just inside, University Dining Services and the College
of Education and Human Development will hold a grand opening
celebration at the River Road Café, Nov. 27, 10 a.m. See the
news release about the
public art and the grand
opening announcement.
A $2.5 MILLION STADIUM SPONSORSHIP from Edina-based Dairy Queen was
announced Nov. 13. See the
news release.
FULBRIGHT RECEPTION for past and present U.S. and international
Fulbright recipients will be Nov. 15, 4-6 p.m., lobby, Ted Mann
Concert Hall. RSVP to rmhelms@umn.edu or 612-626-5598.
FINALISTS FOR THE DIRECTOR OF CARLA--the Center for Advanced
Research on Language Acquisition--will give public presentations
during campus visits: Michele de Courcy, U of Melbourne, Australia,
Nov. 20, 4-6 p.m., 125 Nolte Center; Elaine Tarone, U of Minnesota,
Nov. 27, 4:30-6:30 p.m., 125 Nolte Center; and Elizabeth Bernhardt,
Stanford U, Dec. 6, 4:30-6:30 p.m., 140 Nolte Center. See more information.
THE GOPHER SPOT AND GOLDY'S GAMEROOM invite departments to book
holiday parties. Each offers a large space, variety of packages,
discounts on reservations, food, bowling, billiards, and more;
alcohol permits are available. Contact the Gopher Spot (St. Paul
Student Center) and Goldy's Gameroom (Coffman
Union).
DISCOUNT TICKETS are available for Beowulf at the
Minnesota Zoo IMAX theater, Twin Cities movie theaters, and skiing
at Spirit Mountain. See discount deals at Coffman
Union and the St. Paul Student Center.
"SUSTAINABLE CITIES: A CONVERSATION ON SUSTAINABILITY" will feature
landscape architecture professor Lance Neckar, Center for
Sustainable Building Research director John Carmody, and geography
and urban studies professor and Golden Valley City Council member
Paula Pentel. As of May 2007, the majority of the global population
lives in urban areas; the panel will explore implications. Nov. 29,
12:45-1:45 p.m., Mississippi Room, Coffman Union. See the series
schedule.
MORE EVENTS include American Indian Student Cultural Center open
house (Nov.
14); Higher Ground, a documentary film about how
people with disabilities survived Hurricane Katrina and the
aftermath (Nov.
15); Enchanted: Revealing the Fantastic and
Metaphysical, an international art exhibit (public reception
Nov.
16, exhibit through Dec. 16); "Fantasy Matters" conference
(Nov.
16); Inspecting Carol, a holiday mystery-comedy on the
Minnesota Centennial Showboat (opens Nov.
16); "Gaming" on Tech Talk (Nov.
18); "Whole Systems Research: What Is It and Why Is It
Important?" a lecture by U of Calgary epidemiology and sociology
professor Marja Verhoef (Nov.
19); Scholarly Publishing and Open Access Webcast (Nov.
20); "Computational Biology" in Café Scientifique
(Nov.
20); community Thanksgiving dinner (Nov.
22); "Design and Business: Why Can't We Be Friends?" (Nov.
26); Fill the Bus clothing drive on Coffman Union plaza
(Nov.
27); Sid Hartman and Joel Rippel on Great Minnesota Sports
Moments (Nov.
27); grand opening of Zoca Mexican restaurant at Carlson Dining
(Nov.
28); and "What Every Physician Needs to Know About Integrative
and Holistic Health Care" in the Medical School's Grand Rounds
series (Nov.
28). SEE THESE AND MORE TWIN CITIES CAMPUS EVENTS.
Published by University Relations at the University of Minnesota. Please send comments, questions, or submissions to the editor at brief@umn.edu. The deadline for submissions is noon on the Friday before publication. All Twin Cities event submissions are handled through the events calendar at http://events.tc.umn.edu.
Brief is published by e-mail and on the Web at http://www.umn.edu/umnnews/Publications/Brief.html.
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