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Vol. XXXVIII No. 8; March 5, 2008
Interim Editor: Pauline Oo, brief@umn.edu
Read Brief on the Web at http://www.umn.edu/umnnews/Publications/Brief/Brief_03052008.html.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
--Proposal for biomedical research buildings
--People: U professors win award for research article; Juran center
namesake dies; and more.
Campus Announcements and Events
University-wide | Crookston |
Duluth | Morris | Twin Cities
THE U IS RENEWING A REQUEST for its Minnesota Biomedical
Research Program this legislative session, and more than 100
faculty, staff, students, and other U backers attended a hearing
last week to show their support for the plan. The program would
authorize the construction of four new biomedical research
buildings at the U over the next five years. To learn more, read
"Biomedical boom?"
PEOPLE: Darlene Charboneau is the new Plant Pathology Research
Facility manager; three UMD marketing professors received the
Outstanding Article of the Year Award; Joseph Juran, namesake of
the U's Joseph M. Juran Center for Leadership in Quality, died Feb.
28. Read about these and more in People.
CAMPUS ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS
STATE OF THE UNIVERSITY ADDRESS by President Bruininks will take
place tomorrow, 3 p.m., Mayo Auditorium, UMTC. Interactive
broadcast sites: 220 Dowell, UMC; 410 Library, UMD; Science
Auditorium, UMM; room 4 Magrath Library, St. Paul; and room 397
UMR. Video
streaming on the Web.
U TEAMS UP WITH XCEL ENERGY, the National Renewable Energy
Laboratory, and the Great Plains Institute in a groundbreaking
wind-to-battery project. The partners will test a one-megawatt
battery storage technology to demonstrate its ability to store wind
energy and move it to the electricity grid when needed. Fully
charged, the battery could power 500 homes for six and a half
hours. The project will take place in Luverne, Minnesota. Read the
news release.
MINNESOTA'S FUTURE DOCTORS PROGRAM, a collaboration between the U
and Mayo Clinic medical schools, has received an anonymous donation
of $1 million--$500,000 each to the Minnesota Medical Foundation
and Mayo Clinic. The program was developed in response to a concern
that practicing physicians and medical school students do not
reflect the diversity of Minnesota communities. Read the
news release.
GIVE FEEDBACK ON ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES: Significant enhancements
have been made to the administrative policy on academic misconduct,
including such changes as providing for anonymous reporting through
UReport. A new administrative policy has been developed, "Resolving
Alleged Student Conduct Code Violations," providing details on who
may issue complaints, the process for complaint resolution, which
hearing bodies are involved, and how appeals are handled. Both
policy drafts are
available online for viewing and comments or questions until
March 24.
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: The President's Emerging Leaders program is
accepting applications through March 20 for its 2008-09 cohort. The
program is designed to identify and further develop the leadership
skills of high potential P&A, civil service, and bargaining
unit staff. For more information and application instructions, see
Office of Human
Resources.
"ADAPTATION STRATEGIES FOR CLIMATE CHANGE" Environment Roundtable
features Stephen Pacala, Princeton Environmental Institute, and
Anne Kapuscinski, U's Institute for Social, Economic, and
Ecological Sustainability. March 13, noon-1:15 p.m. (conversation,
noon-12:45; audience discussion, 12:45-1:15), Coffman Theater; or
attend via
UMConnect.
SPRING 2008 ENROLLMENT at UMC is up nearly 13 percent over last
year for degree-seeking students, affirming the actions the campus
has taken to address recruitment and retention. Official numbers
show 1,072 degree-seeking students compared with 951 for spring
semester 2007. Read the news
release.
NEW AND PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS will be able to learn more about the
opportunities available at UMC during Preview Day, March 14. Read
the news
release.
"NATIVE AMERICANS IN MATHEMATICS: A Proud Past and a Look to the
Future," hosted by the UMD Department of Mathematics and
Statistics, will feature Robert Megginson, mathematics professor
and an associate dean at the University of Michigan, discussing
some of the barriers that prevent fuller participation of Native
Americans in mathematics. He will also discuss the opportunities
that are now available to Native Americans in mathematics-based
fields. March 6, 3 p.m., 130 Solon Campus Center. Read the news
release.
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S WEEK Celebration, featuring poetry, food, and
live music by singer and songwriter Sara Thomsen is today, noon,
Kirby Student Center Lounge. UMD Women's Resource and Action Center
and Women's Studies department is sponsoring the free event. For
more information, see Women's
Studies.
UMD MUSIC DEPARTMENT offers two jazz concerts by Jeff Tain Watts
Quartet: March 6 and 7, 7:30 p.m., Weber Music Hall. Bandleader
Watts has established himself as one of jazz music's unique and
creative composers. Watts, an innovative and influential drummer,
is the only musician to appear on every Grammy Award-winning jazz
record by both Wynton and Branford Marsalis. Tickets are $25. For
more information, see music
calendar.
UMM HAS RECEIVED three Clean Renewable Energy Bonds that will be
used to construct a second wind turbine near the U's West Central
Research and Outreach Center, to add a steam turbine that will
convert to electricity the "green" steam from the biomass facility
that is under construction, and to purchase a third wind turbine
that will be located in western Minnesota and shared with the Mille
Lacs Band of Ojibwe. Read the news
release.
UMM MOCK TRIAL TEAM finished first at the Upper Midwest Durst
Memorial Regional Competition in Superior, Wisconsin. Read the
news
release.
"M" BRIDGE CLOSED for inspection; use alternative routes. The
pedestrian bridge that spans the Dinkytown railroad trench between
Roy Wilkins Hall and the old Music Education Building is off limits
for about a month. If repairs are needed, the bridge will remain
closed indefinitely until they are completed.
GOLDSTEIN MUSEUM is among the first group of small libraries and
museums in the United States to receive the "Connecting to
Collections Bookshelf" from the Institute of Museum and Library
Services to help care for its collections. The Bookshelf includes
books, DVDs, and online resources that address such topics as
collections management and planning, emergency preparedness, and
culturally specific conservation issues.
NEED A BOOK FROM U LIBRARIES? Book delivery is available at the
simplified new Web site, Get It! A book can be held for pick up at
any campus library or delivered to faculty or staff offices at
UMTC. See Get It
services.
JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL, through March 9, includes the films
Arranged and Aviva My Love, as well as
documentaries The Forgotten Refugees and Making
Trouble. The Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
sponsored the March 4 film and post-show discussion. Ticket prices
and screening locations vary. For a complete schedule, see film
fest.
TRANSPORTATION CAREER EXPO sponsored by Center for Transportation
Studies will provide information to students on transportation
career alternatives and preparation strategies. A reception offers
networking and employment-seeking opportunities with potential
employers. For more information, contact Mindy Carlson,
612-625-1813, carlson@cts.umn.edu, or see
2008 Career
Expo. March 13, 1:15-5 p.m., Coffman Union.
MORE EVENTS include "Headliners: The China Connection" (March
6); "Computers Once Were Women--Why Did This Change?" (March
7); Dance faculty repertoire concert (March
8), wine class at the Campus Club (March
10); "Equitable Solutions to Greenhouse Warming" (March
11); "Finding Gene Information" (March
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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