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Vol. XXXVII No. 37; Nov. 28, 2007
Editor: Gayla Marty, brief@umn.edu
Read Brief on the Web at http://www.umn.edu/umnnews/Publications/Brief/Brief_11282007.html.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
--Text messaging became part of the U's emergency notification
system Nov. 16.
--International graduate student enrollment has rebounded since
2001 due to strategic efforts.
--UMTC will decommission its modem pool Dec. 31; UMart offers
Internet service provider discounts for U employees.
--People: New associate VP for system academic administration is
Irma McClaurin; Mohamed Benaissa of Morocco will be awarded an
honorary doctorate Dec. 4; and more.
Campus Announcements and Events
University-wide | Crookston |
Duluth | Morris | Rochester | Twin Cities
TXT-U BECAME PART OF THE U'S EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEM Nov.
16, when it debuted at UMTC. The new system for students, faculty,
and staff with cell phones and other wireless handheld devices will
be used only in case of real emergencies or school closings. TXT-U
will also be implemented at UMC, UMM, and UMR; UMD has its own
system. Text messaging joins outdoor sirens, fire alarms, broadcast
voice mail and e-mail, pagers, and department radios among the U's
methods to reach everyone quickly. There is no charge to sign up,
though cell phone carriers may charge to receive text messages.
Those who sign up by Dec. 15 may win an iPod touch. Read more in
"1
new message."
GRADUATE STUDENT ENROLLMENT FROM ASIA HAS INCREASED at UMTC, with
gains of 3 percent from China, 34 percent from India, and 86
percent from Turkey. Gains from several nations were well ahead of
the national rate and correlate with strategic efforts that grew
from work of a committee formed in 2004 to create a plan for UMTC
international recruitment. Despite intense competition for
international talent, UMTC is now regaining enrollment that fell
sharply in 2001. Recovery is reported at UMD, as well. Read more in
the
media advisory.
UMTC WILL DECOMMISSION ITS MODEM POOL for employees, students, and
alumni to access the Internet from home. About 3,000 remaining pool
users must transfer to third-party Internet service providers
(ISPs) by Dec. 31. The Office of Information Technology identified
ISPs with a record of good service, availability, and reasonable
cost and negotiated U discounts, available through UMart. Read more
about the process and options in "Everybody
out of the pool!"
PEOPLE: New associate VP for system academic administration and
executive director of the U's first Urban Research and
Outreach/Engagement Center is Irma McClaurin; alumnus Mohamed
Benaissa, '63, former Moroccan ambassador to the United States,
will be awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree and will speak at
UMTC Dec. 4; and more. Read about these and more awards and
appointments in People.
CAMPUS ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS
OPEN ENROLLMENT FOR EMPLOYEE BENEFITS ENDS NOV. 30. Employees
satisfied with their medical and dental plans do not need to
re-enroll, but enrollment is required to start or continue a health
care or dependent day care flexible spending account; start or
increase the level of long-term disability insurance, if eligible;
or get up to $25,000 of additional employee life insurance. See
open
enrollment.
AN ADDITIONAL HOLIDAY FOR ACADEMIC PERSONNEL AT UMR AND UMTC
(faculty, P&A, graduate assistants, and professionals in
training) has been approved to achieve equity with the 11 days
available to academic employees at UMC, UMD, and UMM. This personal
holiday must be taken between Dec. 21 and Jan. 19; specific
available dates could change in future years. See personal
holiday.
NEXT U SENATE MEETINGS ARE NOV. 29. The U Senate and Faculty Senate
will meet 2:30-5 p.m.; locations are 308 Selvig Hall, UMC; Garden
Room, UMD; 3500 Science Building, UMM; and 25 Mondale Hall, UMTC.
The Student Senate will meet 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. See the schedule
details.
A CEREMONY TO HONOR NOBEL PRIZEWINNER Leonid Hurwicz, Regents
Professor Emeritus of Economics, with special guest Jonas
Hafström, Swedish ambassador to the United States, will take
place simultaneously with the award ceremony in Stockholm. Dec. 10,
9:30 a.m., Tedd Mann Concert Hall, UMTC. Admission is free but
tickets are required; request a ticket by Nov. 30 by contacting
Erik at farse003@umn.edu or
612-624-8480. To request disability accommodations, call
612-625-0051. Post a note of congratulation to Professor Hurwicz in
the guestbook.
TEACHING AND ADVISING AWARDS NOMINATION INFORMATION SESSIONS for
those involved in compiling dossiers for the Morse-Alumni,
graduate/professional, and Tate advising awards will address
dossier format, tips for compiling a strong dossier, and more.
Staff from the Office of the Senior VP and Provost will be
available to answer questions about the process. UMTC: Dec. 3, 2-3
p.m., 101 Walter Library. Sessions for UMC, UMD, and UMM will be
offered by interactive TV: Dec. 5, 2-3 p.m.; campus locations will
be 106 Sahlstrom Center, UMC; 173 Kirby Plaza, UMD; and 7 HFA, UMM.
Register by Nov. 30. Contact Robin Matross Helms at rmhelms@umn.edu or 612-626-5598.
INFORMATION SESSION ON THE 2008 SUCCESSFUL MANAGERS LEADERSHIP
PROGRAM will be Dec. 11, 9:30-10:30 a.m, 215 Donhowe Building,
UMTC. The program's four-and-a-half-day spring session, designed to
increase leadership capabilities at the U, is scheduled to begin
Feb. 26. See more information,
including program dates and costs and a brochure in PDF
format.
APPLICATIONS FOR EQUITY AND DIVERSITY "IDEA GRANTS" are invited by
the Office for Equity and Diversity. The program funds projects,
programming, events, and research that support historically
underrepresented students, faculty, staff, and communities. All
academic and administrative units across the U's campuses are
eligible to apply; grants are awarded quarterly. Next deadline for
applications is Dec. 31. See more
information and the application.
THE ACADEMIC HEALTH CENTER AND JAPAN'S KEIO U SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
will establish a clinical research education e-program with a grant
from Medtronic Foundation. The program will allow U researchers to
share clinical research expertise with Japan. See the news
release.
FLEET SERVICES AUCTION: U Fleet Services' regular auction of extra
vehicles is online this year. The auction began this month and
continues through February; vehicles will be added as they become
available. See a list of vehicles available to buy at Fleet Services
auction.
SAVE THE DATE: The third annual Minnesota conference on sustainable
tourism, "Stepping up to Sustainability," will be April 15 at the
Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC). More information
will be posted soon by the U
Tourism Center.
THE MINNESOTA BOARD OF TEACHING site-visit evaluation team will
recommend that UMC be granted institutional licensure, with
conditions, for offering teacher education programs, as reported
Nov. 14 in preliminary findings. The written report is expected in
30 days, and final recommendations will go before the board for
consideration in late January or early February, when the licensure
would become official. All initial approvals include requirements
for follow-up reports and on-site visits.
WOMEN'S HOLIDAY SOCIAL AND OPEN HOUSE will include a silent auction
of holiday baskets created by departments to raise funds for the
Women's Project Fund and raise awareness of women's scholarships at
UMC. Dec. 4, 4-6 p.m., Bede Ballroom.
UMD ATHLETICS HOSTED THE 2008 NCAA Division II North Central
Region women's volleyball tournament Nov. 15-17. Concordia U-St.
Paul captured the regional championship with a 3-1 win over the
Bulldogs and advanced to the Elite Eight tournament. See the
results.
DINNER WITH FRIENDS, a Pulitzer prizewinning, "sober,
wise, and extremely funny" drama about marriage crisis, will be
presented by the Department of Theatre. Nov. 29-Dec. 2 and Dec.
4-8, 7:30 p.m. (2 p.m. Sundays), Dudley Experimental Theatre,
Marshall Performing Arts Center. Tickets $15 adults, $11 students
and seniors, $6 children and UMD students. See more information.
NEW CHANCELLOR FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS AND DEAN is Cheryl Contant,
pending approval by the regents Dec. 14. Contant is professor and
director of the city and regional planning program in the Georgia
Institute of Technology's College of Architecture. She served as an
American Council of Education Fellow at Macalester College in
2006-07. She was selected following a national search and will
assume responsibilities next summer. See the news
release.
THE MARKET RESEARCH PHASE OF A BRANDING INITIATIVE FOR UMM has been
completed by the national marketing firm Lipman Hearne. The firm
conducted on-campus focus groups, student and parent focus groups,
and donor and alumni surveys this fall and will present their
findings Nov. 27-28. The research will be used to enhance UMM's
communications efforts. For more information, contact director of
communications Christine Mahoney, mahoneyc@morris.umn.edu or
320-589-6398.
GOV. PAWLENTY VISITED UMR NOV. 19 to see the new facilities and talk about his vision for higher education in Rochester and southeastern Minnesota. He thanked the Rochester Higher Education Development Council (RHEDC) for their efforts and enthusiasm for the unique opportunities the new campus brings.
METRO TRANSIT'S 2007 COMMUTER CHOICE AWARD was given to UMTC in
recognition of creative commuting solutions, both operational and
marketing, after the I-35W bridge collapse. See the
news release.
COPYRIGHT PERMISSION REQUESTS FOR SPRING 2008 course materials
should be submitted to the Copyright Permissions Center as soon as
possible. Source information may be dropped off at any Printing
Services location, faxed to 612-626-9810, mailed to 102 Printing
Services Building, or submitted online. For more information,
contact Dale Mossestad at mosse006@umn.edu or
612-626-9416.
LEARNINGLIFE, a learning community to help more than a million
Minnesotans about to retire and other citizen-learners who want to
connect, have fun, and learn in good company, has been established
by the College of Continuing Education. It will debut at
LearningLife Fest, Dec. 1, 8:45 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Continuing
Education and Conference Center. See the
news release and register.
THE NEXT HEADLINERS FORUM will feature economics professor and
Federal Reserve Bank economic adviser Varadarajan V. Chari on "Game
Theory in an Economic Maelstrom." Chari, a colleague of 2007 Nobel
prizewinner Leonid Hurwicz, will talk about the significance of
Hurwicz's groundbreaking theory and the current volatile state of
the economy. Dec. 6, 7 p.m., Continuing Education and Conference
Center. See more
information.
PULITZER PRIZEWINNER Paul Muldoon, Princeton U professor and new
poetry editor of The New Yorker, will speak on "The
Eternity of the Poem" in the next Esther Freier Endowed Lecture.
The Irish-born Muldoon has published 10 major collections of poetry
and is a guitarist and lyricist for the band Rackett. Nov. 28, 7:30
p.m., theater, Coffman Union. Sponsored by the Department of English,
612-625-3363.
NOBEL LAUREATE James Heckman, U of Chicago professor of economics,
will speak on "Schools,
Skills, and Synapses" in the next George Seltzer Distinguished
Memorial Lecture. Heckman's research proves a greater return on
investment for dollars spent on early childhood programs compared
with remediation later in life. Dec. 6, 3:30 p.m., 3M Auditorium,
Carlson School of Management. Register by Nov. 30 by contacting
carlsonevents@umn.edu or
612-626-9633.
THE U POLICE DEPARTMENT IS A DROP SITE FOR TOYS FOR TOTS. Bring
unwrapped toys to the lobby of the Transportation and Safety
Building, 511 Washington Ave. S.E. The last day to drop off toys is
Dec. 19, 3 p.m. See gift
suggestions.
MORE EVENTS include "What Every Physician Needs to Know About
Integrative and Holistic Health Care" in the Medical School's Grand
Rounds series (Nov.
28); "Sustainable Cities: A Conversation on Sustainability"
(Nov.
29); "Bio-deregulation: Bodies, Jeans, and Justice," by Rice U
professor of English Rosemary Hennessy (Nov.
29); "The Birth of the Human Rights Movement," by history
professor Jay Winter (Nov.
30); U Marching Band Indoor Concert (Dec.
1-2);
"Early Findings From the Flexible Work and Well-being Study"
(Dec.
3); "Slow Art" (Dec.
3); Grand Casinos cofounder Lyle Berman at the Carlson School's
First Tuesday luncheon (Dec.
4); Engaged Scholarship: A Guide for Organizational and
Social Research author and U management professor Andrew Van
de Ven (Dec.
4); School of Nursing Foundation benefit jewelry sale (Dec.
5); and "Aesthetics or Utility? Art Engaging the Environment,"
a public lecture by Department of Art visiting scholar Lesley
Stokes Sims (Dec.
5). 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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