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Vol. XXXVII No. 38; Dec. 5, 2007
Editor: Gayla Marty, brief@umn.edu
Read Brief on the Web at http://www.umn.edu/umnnews/Publications/Brief/Brief_12052007.html.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
--Reality psych: Community partnerships helped UMD's Brenda
Butterfield transform an undergraduate course in developmental
psychology.
--Holidays in the office.
--People: Geography professor Robert McMaster named UMTC vice
provost and dean for undergraduate education; and more.
Campus Announcements and Events
University-wide | Crookston |
Duluth | Morris | Rochester | Twin Cities
REALITY PSYCH: Developmental psychology instructor Brenda
Butterfield felt she wasn't getting through to students in her
class. Trained in social work, Butterfield started the path to
transforming the UMD course with a single phone call to Head Start.
Then she worked with UMD's Office of Civic Engagement and more
partners to place students in community learning environments for
20 hours. Read more in "Reality
psych."
HOLIDAYS IN THE OFFICE: It's the time of year when celebrations are
an important part of holiday traditions. To make it an enjoyable
time of year for coworkers, take time to consider options when
planning office get-togethers. Read updated tips prepared by Dee
Anne Bonebright, Office of Human Resources, in "A
party for all."
PEOPLE: Geography professor Robert McMaster has been named vice
provost and dean for undergraduate education, succeeding Craig
Swan; the Academic Health Center announced the newly endowed John
S. Najarian Chair in Clinical Transplantation; Award for Global
Engagement recipients John Cogan, Allen Isaacman, and Vernon
Weckwerth were honored Nov. 27. Read about these and more
appointments and awards in People.
CAMPUS ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS
TIME CHANGE: THE MINNESOTA CEREMONY TO HONOR NOBEL PRIZEWINNER
Leonid Hurwicz, Regents Professor Emeritus of Economics--which will
take place simultaneously with the award ceremony in
Stockholm--will begin 10 minutes earlier than announced. Dec. 10,
9:20 a.m., Ted Mann Concert Hall, UMTC. See the
media advisory and watch the U of
M home page Dec. 7 for information about seeing the award
presentation online. See also information about online viewing of
the simultaneous ceremony in
Stockholm and Hurwicz's Dec. 8 Nobel
lecture.
A RECEPTION TO HONOR professor Craig Swan, vice provost and dean of
undergraduate education, upon the occasion of his retirement will
be held Dec. 12, 3:30-6 p.m., with a program at 4:15 p.m., Memorial
Hall, McNamara Alumni Center. The U-wide community is invited. RSVP
requested to mtillman@umn.edu. Reminiscences and
tributes for a memory book are welcome; send to Judie Cilcain at
cilcain@umn.edu. For
disability accommodations, call 612-624-3316.
"THE ESSENTIAL ROLE OF BIOMEDICAL AND HEALTH INFORMATICS in
Academic Health Centers: Minnesota Leads the Way" will be presented
by Don Detmer, president and chief executive officer, American
Medical Informatics Association. The U is embarking on a major
bioinformatics investment over the next few years--an
interdisciplinary, comprehensive, academic home for bioinformatics
research. Detmer is a leader in one area of the field and
well-known in research and academia. Dec. 11, 4 p.m. lecture, 5
p.m. reception, Mayo Auditorium. See more
information.
MINNESOTA TIGER SUMMIT: PREPARING FOR 2010. All health care
providers soon will be required by law to use an interoperable
electronic health record. This Technology Informatics Guiding
Education Reform (TIGER) summit is an opportunity to help develop
an action plan for empowering nurses and other health care
providers for the new law; it will also provide a model for others
to align resources in Minnesota to meet the new requirement. Four
national speakers--Martin LaVenture, Minnesota Department of
Health; Joyce Sensmeier, HIMSS; Roy Simpson, Cerner Corporation;
and Diane Skiba, U of Colorado Health Sciences Center--and others
will be on hand to help inform the development of an action plan.
Jan. 11, Earle Brown Heritage Center. Sponsored by the School of
Nursing and several cosponsors. See more information or
register.
DISTINGUISHED WOMEN SCHOLARS AWARD: Nominations for 2008 awards are
due to college deans Jan. 18, final nominations to the Graduate
School Jan. 28. Annual awards are made to two women faculty
members--one in the sciences and engineering, and one in the
humanities, social sciences, and arts. See the guidelines.
INTERNATIONAL ALUMNI AWARD: Nominations for 2008 are due Feb. 21.
The U-wide Distinguished Leadership Award for Internationals honors
alumni, former students, and friends of the U who have
distinguished themselves in post-U work as leaders in their
professions. See the guidelines.
THE ACADEMIC HEALTH CENTER (AHC) ACADEMY FOR EXCELLENCE IN HEALTH
RESEARCH confers upon AHC faculty the highest U recognition of
research excellence. Nominations are encouraged from all AHC
colleges and departments. Deadline for nominations: March 14. Send
to Sara Balick, U Senate Office, 424 Morrill Hall. See nomination
requirements.
DECEMBER EVENTS AT THE ARBORETUM include music on Saturdays at 1:30
and 2:30 p.m. and free Thursday night performances at 6 and 7 p.m.
See
holiday offerings.
TAIWAN: Senior vice chancellor for academic and student affairs
Tom Baldwin is in Taiwan the first two weeks of December. His
itinerary includes visits to National Taipei College of Business
(NTCB), Lunghwa U of Science and Technology, Taiwan International
U, and (tentatively) Nan Kai Institute of Technology. UMC will
receive the first Nan Kai student this spring semester. Baldwin is
scheduled to speak at conferences and meet with colleagues and
prospective students.
DEDICATION OF THE UMC EQUALITY ROOM, 15 Hill Hall, was held Dec. 3.
Anne Phibbs, systemwide director of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual,
Transgender, and Allies (GLBTA) Programs, attended. The Equality
Room is a designated safe space open to all student groups, who can
reserve the space through the U's SURE reservation system; similar
spaces are available on all U campuses. Also visiting from UMTC
Dec. 3 were Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Office director
Kim Boyd and Office for University Women director Peg Lonnquist.
See current
highlights.
THE 2007-08 CHANCELLOR'S AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED RESEARCH
recipient is Matt Andrews, professor and head, Department of
Biology. He will be honored at an award ceremony, Dec. 10, 3:15
p.m., 150 Chemistry Building. After the ceremony, he will present a
seminar on his current research, "What We Have Learned From
Hibernating Mammals." A reception will follow in the Griggs Center,
second floor, Kirby Student Center. The public is cordially
invited. See event
information.
The Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute (GLMRI) has been
appointed a member of the Marine Transportation System National
Advisory Council (MTSNAC) for a three-year term by U.S. Secretary
of Transportation Mary Peters. The GLMRI is dedicated to developing
and improving economically and environmentally sustainable maritime
commerce on the Great Lakes through applied research. It is a
consortium of UMD's Swenson College of Science and Engineering and
Labovitz School of Business and Economics and the U of
Wisconsin-Superior's Transportation and Logistics Research Center.
The institute has nine affiliated universities throughout the Great
Lakes states. See the news
release.
PLANNING FOR A NEW RESIDENTIAL LIFE FACILITY, to open in fall 2009, is under way. Green Prairie Community, designed for sustainable living, will provide contemporary housing in suite-style dwellings for 80 undergraduates. Read the news release.
CHANCELLOR LEHMKUHLE VISITED WINONA Nov. 28 as part of the U of
M Alumni Association's yearlong, statewide speakers tour. See the
news release.
THE M GEAR STORE, OPERATED BY UNIVERSITY BOOKSTORES, celebrated its
grand opening in the Shops at University Square Nov. 28. An
estimated 650 people attended the event, which featured members of
the U of M alumni marching band and remarks by Chancellor
Lehmkuhle, Rochester mayor Ardell Brede, and bookstores director
Bob Crabb. The new store carries textbooks, supplies, and course
needs, as well as Gopher, U of M, and UMR gear and gifts for fans
and alumni of all ages. See M
Gear.
THE U OF M MARCHING BAND's 11th appearance in Rochester was held at
the Mayo Civic Center Nov. 27, with an estimated 5,000 attending.
About 130 attended a reception before the concert, hosted by the
Rochester Area Alumni and Friends of the U of M.
"A SAFE YOU IS A SAFE U" PUBLIC SAFETY AWARENESS CAMPAIGN aims
to make students, faculty, staff, neighbors, and visitors to the
UMTC aware of efforts to keep the campus safe and to ask members of
the U community to take personal steps to build on the culture of
safety. See the developing Web
site.
THE MINNESOTA SENATE CAPITAL INVESTMENT COMMITTEE spent the morning
of Nov. 27 touring UMTC projects that are part of the 2008 state
bonding request. They stopped at the site for the new Bell Museum
of Natural History and sat in on a class in EE/CSci--a "scale-up"
prototype classroom. The senators also visited Folwell and Ackerman
Halls. Read more about the capital
request.
"PROMOTING CRITICAL THINKING IN THE CLASSROOM: Assigning,
Communicating, and Assessing What We Value" will be presented by
Bill Condon, director of campus writing programs at Washington
State U. He will argue that a lack of inspired student thinking can
result from lack of clear instructor expectations and will discuss
a seven-dimension critical-thinking rubric developed by his
institution's Critical Thinking Project in 1996. Dec. 14, 10
a.m.-noon, 135 Nicholson Hall. Register.
CHEESE GIFT BOXES are available at the Department of Food Science
and Nutrition Dairy Salesroom, open Wednesdays, 3-5 p.m., 166
Andrew Boss Lab of Meat Science. See more
information.
MEAT LAB GIFT PACKAGES are available, also featuring maple syrup,
Fireside apples, and honey, all vacuum packed. Dec. 13, 14, and
17-21, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., 26 Andrew Boss Lab of Meat Science. Order
ahead. See more
information.
MORE EVENTS include "Burning the Sea: Desperate Journeys Across the
Mediterranean," led by Hakim Abderrezak (Dec.
5); a performance of Nicholas Maw's "Sonata" by Minnesota
Orchestra concertmaster Jorja Fleezanis (Dec.
6); "Envisioning Real Utopias" by Eric Olin Wright, U of
Wisconsin (Dec.
7); "150 Years of Minnesota Memories," a program drawn from
library archives of statehood celebrations (Dec.
7); National Conference of the Early Childhood Research
Collaborative (Dec.
8); CLA commencement and graduation reception at Eastcliff
(Dec.
9); free latke/potato pancake taste testing on the east end of
the Washington Avenue bridge (Dec.
10-11);
"Ethnic Studies in the Neo-Liberal University" by Lisa Duggan, New
York U (Dec.
10); "Tough Ceramics at the Seashore" in Café
Scientifique (Dec.
11); and "Building a Better Baby Business: What's Wrong With
the Market for Assisted Reproduction and How to Make It Better" by
Deborah Spar, Harvard Business School (Dec.
12). 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.
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