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Vol. XXXVIII No. 5; Feb. 6, 2008
Interim editor: Pauline Oo, brief@umn.edu
Read Brief on the Web at http://www.umn.edu/umnnews/Publications/Brief/Brief_1092008.html.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
--Quality Fair successful, second time aroundCampus Announcements and Events
University-wide | Crookston
|Duluth | Morris | Twin Cities
U'S QUALITY FAIR drew a large crowd of staff, faculty, and
students sharing best practices for the second consecutive year.
The event highlighted projects from around the University that
"innovate, improve, and inspire." Read more at
"Doing things better."
PEOPLE: UDS executive chef Ray Thering receives a Food Alliance
Midwest award for his commitment to support local growers; clinical
associate professor Bonnie Bata-Jones retired from the U.S. Army as
a lieutenant colonel; English faculty members Charles Baxter and
Patricia Hampl are finalists for 2008 Minnesota Book Awards (Baxter
for The Art of Subtext: Beyond Plot and Hampl for The
Florist's Daughter); English professor and chair Paula
Rabinowitz will be honored Feb. 13 as the 2008 CLA Dean's Medalist.
Read about these and more awards and appointments in People.
CAMPUS ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS
SUPPORT THE U DAY AT THE CAPITOL Feb. 20. Hundreds of U
supporters from across the state are expected to attend. Noon rally
in the rotunda; 12:45 p.m. lunch in the Great Hall; 1 p.m. optional
meetings with legislators. Sign up at Legislative Network.
U RESEARCHERS at the Academic Health Center and the Institute of
Technology (IT) have discovered a new way to turn genes off in
human T cells, a type of white blood cell that helps the immune
system fight infections. The research could lead to new drugs for
patients with diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. It
could also prevent cancer cells from dividing. The research was
published in the Feb. 1 issue of Molecular Cell. Read the
news
release.
IT AND THE COLLEGE OF DESIGN will lead the U's effort in the 2009
Solar Decathlon (item appeared in Brief, Jan. 30). Read
the news
release.
BEAUTIFUL U DAY April 17--Mark your calendars for the 10th
anniversary of the annual campuswide clean up. The 2008 event
focuses on sustainability efforts at the U. Grants are once again
available to help fund department and student group projects and
activities; see Beautiful U
Day.
APPLICATIONS WANTED for the 2008-09 President's Emerging Leaders
(PEL) cohort. The program is designed to identify and further
develop the leadership skills of high potential P&A, civil
service, and bargaining unit staff. The application deadline is
March 20. For more information and application instructions, see
PEL.
DANIEL SVEDARSKY, head of the Natural Resources Department at
UMC and president of the 8,000 member Wildlife Society, took part
in a Jan. 29 news conference in Washington, DC, calling for
legislation that would protect and restore wildlife and ecosystems
harmed by global warming. Read the news
release.
ALUMNI AND COMMUNITY FRIENDS of the Northwest School of Agriculture
(NWSA) and UMC will gather for a social Feb.15 at the Terrace Green
at ViewPoint Resort, Mesa, Arizona. Read the news
release.
"ADDING UP TO ZERO," an educational campaign highlighting the
positive steps UMD is taking to minimize its environmental impact,
is under way. The campaign features a Web site and brochures
designed to further educate students, faculty, and staff. To review
the campaign materials and offer comments, see Adding up to Zero.
UMD MUSIC DEPARTMENT presents "Faculty Artist Recital: An Evening
With the Bassoon," featuring bassoonist Jefferson Campbell, Feb.
11, 7:30 p.m., Weber Music Hall. The event is free and open to the
public. For more information, see recital.
UMD THEATRE will perform A Flea in Her Ear, French master
playwright Georges Feydeau's most celebrated work, Feb. 14-17 and
20-23 at Marshall Performing Arts Center. All performances begin at
7:30 p.m. except Sunday, Feb. 17, when the show starts at 2 p.m.
Written in 1907, the story of eccentric characters,
misunderstandings, clandestine trysts, and misplaced jealousies
creates overall fun and mayhem. Tickets are $15 for adults, $11 for
seniors, and $6 for children 12 and under. For more information,
see current
season.
UMM'S BIOMASS GASIFICATION FACILITY and participation in Campus
Energy Wars mentioned in a new publication from the National
Wildlife Federation, "Higher Education in a Warming World: The
Business Case for Climate Leadership on Campus." Read the full
report at NWF.
FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL hosted by Entre Nous and the French discipline
at UMM, with support of the French-American Cultural Exchange. The
2008 Tourn?es Film Festival offers five award-winning feature films
in French with English subtitles. Films will be shown on Fridays
throughout Feb. 7 p.m., Science Auditorium. Special screening of
Paris, je t'aime on Valentine's Day at Morris Theatre.
Read the news
release.
MORE THAN 80 RESEARCHERS and scientists from the U, Mayo Clinic, IBM, and Hormel Institute gathered at the Rochester campus in January to share the early results of five biomedical informatics and computational biology research projects and to mark a milestone in a new collaboration that helps bolster the state's strength in these critical fields. To learn more about the projects, read UMNnews or see the Biomedical Informatics and Computational Biology program, which was established with funding from the 2006 Minnesota Legislature.
SCHOOL OF NURSING RECEIVES $2.5 MILLION ENDOWMENT from the Mary
K. and Cyrus A. Field trust to support undergraduate and graduate
nursing students. This is the second largest gift to the school in
its 99-year history. The gift is eligible for the President's
Scholarship match, further enhancing the funds available to nursing
students. Read the
news release.
MET COUNCIL TO HEAR PUBLIC TESTIMONY on the proposed Central
Corridor project, an 11-mile light rail line between downtown St.
Paul and downtown Minneapolis that would run through the Twin
Cities campus. Today, noon-2 p.m., Shepherd Room, Weisman Art
Museum. For more information about U's involvement in the project,
see Central
Corridor.
ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT WILL ANNOUNCE its 2008 football recruiting
class (3 p.m.) and unveil a virtual tour of the new TCF Bank
Stadium (3:30 p.m.). Today, Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex. Read
the news release.
NEW WEB SITE launched for the Center for Interprofessional
Education. The center, established in December 2006,
collaborates with AHC schools and colleges to identify, promote,
implement, and evaluate interprofessional education.
TONY DIGGS EXCELLENCE AWARDS for student group contributions. The
awards allow faculty, staff, and students to recognize student
groups for excellent work. Nominations must be submitted by March
5, 4:30 p.m. Call Student Activities (612-626-6919) with any
questions. Award descriptions and nominations are now available at
Student Unions
and Activities.
RECOGNIZE AN OUTSTANDING STUDENT with a President's Student
Leadership and Service Award. Nominations are accepted through Feb.
8. For more information and online nomination forms, see Student Unions and
Activities.
REMODELED ESSENTIALS MARKET NOW OPEN in Blegen Hall. New products
include an organic food/beverage section, hot dogs, freshly
prepared grab-n-go items, and school supplies such as pens,
calculators, and notebooks. Hours: Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m.-8:30
p.m.; Friday, 7 a.m.-3 p.m. For more information, see University Dining Services.
USHER IN THE CHINESE NEW YEAR Feb. 8 with the Friendship
Association of Chinese Students and Scholars at St. Paul
Student Center. Doors open at 4:30 p.m., with dinner starting at 5
p.m. U students will perform 7-9 p.m. There will also be games, a
movie, and karaoke. Admission is $5 at the door.
EXTREME WINTER WALKABOUT: Join a naturalist-led hike through the
woods, wetlands, and prairies of the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum
in Chaska (Hwy. 5, 9 miles west of I-494). Feb. 9, 11 a.m.; departs
from Oswald Visitor Center. Bring snowshoes if you wish.
Complementary hot beverage afterwards. Free with Arboretum gate
admission ($7 adults, free for members and children under
15).
HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL ORATORIO, "To Be Certain of the Dawn," with
music by U alum Stephen Paulus and libretto by U professor Michael
Dennis Browne. The event features a full orchestra and a
shofar (traditional Jewish instrument), children's chorus,
four soloists, and cantor, as well as photographs by Roman
Vishniac. Feb. 12, 10 a.m. ticketed open rehearsal; 7:30 p.m.
performance, Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis. Tickets: $10-$83; see
Minnesota Orchestra. (The performance will also take place
April 25-26 at St. Cloud State University and St. John's
University, Collegeville.)
"THE FUTURE OF VEHICLE SAFETY" is part of the Center for
Transportation Studies winter 2008 Luncheon Series. Ronald Medford,
senior associate administrator for vehicle safety at the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, will discuss how future
technologies will monitor driver behavior to avoid crashes. Feb.
13, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Learn more at CTS.
MATH MATTERS lecture by the Institute for Mathematics and Its
Applications will feature Alfio Quarteroni from the ?cole
Polytechnique F?d?rale de Lausanne in Switzerland. In his talk,
"Mathematical Modeling in Medicine, Sports, and the Environment,"
Quarteroni will describe how his research team uses math to improve
cardiac surgical interventions and to optimize the design of the
America's Cup yacht Alinghi. Free; Feb. 13, 7-8:30 p.m., 125 Willey
Hall. Learn more at IMA.
"THE AGING GAME" is the theme of Mini Medical School, spring 2008.
Topics for the five-week series include what happens as we age,
your aging skin, oral health, sexuality and aging, heart health,
and what you should know about prescription drugs and medications.
Mondays, March 24-April 21, 6-8:30 p.m., Coffman Union Theatre. For
more information, see Mini Med
School.
MORE EVENTS include "The Legacy of the Nazi Doctors' Trial for
American Bioethics and International Human Rights Law" (Feb.
7); "Women and Heart Disease" (Feb.
8); "Russel Wright: Living with Good Design" (Feb.
9); Adventure Science: Samsam Villages and Clean Water in Ghana
(Feb.
10); "Drugs, Herbs, and Supplements" (Feb.
11); "Extreme Googling: Tips and Tricks for Expert
Searching"(Feb.
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.
Brief is published by e-mail and on the Web at http://www.umn.edu/umnnews/Publications/Brief.html.
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