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Vol. XXXVIII No. 12; April 2, 2008
Interim Editor: Pauline Oo, brief@umn.edu
Read Brief on the Web at http://www.umn.edu/umnnews/Publications/Brief/Brief_04022008.html.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
--Green Team key in U's new compost program
--People: Ralph Rapson has died; Ann Edgerton is new director of
child care center; and more.
Campus Announcements and Events
University-wide | Crookston |
Duluth | Morris | Rochester | Twin Cities
U HAS ORGANICS RECYCLING FOR COMPOST PROGRAM. University Dining
Services' Green Team has played a big role in the U's compost
collection efforts by helping the lunch crowd identify its
compost-friendly waste. Read "Every
napkin counts."
PEOPLE: Ralph Rapson, who led the School of Architecture for 30
years, died March 29 of heart failure; Ann Edgerton will be the new
director of the University of Minnesota Child Care Center effective
May 12; Neuroscience professor Robert Miller will receive the 2008
Proctor Medal from the Association for Research in Vision and
Ophthalmology; Anne Phibbs, GLBT Programs director, has earned the
2008 Power of One Award from PFund. Read about these and more in
People.
CAMPUS ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS
FROSTBITE IS THE NAME OF THE NEW U APPLE. The Minnesota
Landscape Arboretum received more than 7,000 entries worldwide in a
naming contest for the apple. Commercial nurseries will soon start
propagating the trees, which will be ready for gardeners and
orchards to plant in one to two years. The first trees will then
bear fruit to sell by 2014. Read the
news release.
MINNESOTA PHOTOGRAPHER CRAIG BLACKLOCK has been named senior fellow
by the U's Center for Spirituality and Healing. As a fellow, he
will support the center's ongoing research and education in optimal
healing environments (the use of nature and art to promote healing
in health care facilities). Blacklock's work, inspired by the north
shore, is now featured throughout the center and the Medical
Center's Transitional Care Unit, UMTC.
SENATE MEETINGS (U Senate and Faculty Senate) will be April 3,
2:30-5 p.m., 25 Mondale Hall, UMTC. Interactive broadcast: 308
Selvig Hall, UMC; Kirby Student Center Garden Room, UMD; and
Student Activities Conference Room, UMM. Meeting agendas can be
found on the
Web.
DISCOVERING FLUID POWER, a documentary produced by the U's
Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power, in partnership with
Twin Cities Public Television, will air April 6, 8 p.m., and May
10, 9 p.m., on TPT-channel 17 or channel 13 on Comcast Cable in
Minneapolis. To learn more about the center, within the Institute
of Technology, read "New
fluid power center has faculty pumped."
U LOCAL FOODS TASK FORCE KICKOFF will include networking
opportunities, agenda-setting discussions about the group's future
direction, and local snacks. To register, see task force. For
more information, call 612-625-5793 or e-mail madamek@umn.edu. April 10, 1-4 p.m.,
Cargill Building, UMTC.
PANEL DISCUSSION ON INTERDISCIPLINARITY will address the importance
of interdisciplinarity, how to make it work, and how it has been
applied in the past, particularly in the area of rhetoric. The
event, hosted by the U's Institute for Advanced Study and organized
by the Reconfiguring Rhetorical Studies collaborative, will feature
UMC associate professor Mark Huglen and UMD assistant professors
David Beard and David Gore. April 10, 4 p.m., Nolte Center. Read
the news
release.
FIRST DOCTORAL DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIP RESEARCH SHOWCASE will
feature more than 30 of this year's 114 fellowship recipients,
final-year Ph.D. candidates nominated by their graduate studies
programs' directors in a U-wide competition sponsored by the
Graduate School. April 15, noon-2 p.m., Mississippi Room, Coffman
Union, UMTC. Registration is requested by April 9; sign up online. For
event details, see U
calendar.
RECIPIENTS OF U's DISTINGUISHED WOMEN SCHOLARS AWARD: Ruth Karras,
history, and Stephanie Valberg, veterinary population medicine. The
award, sponsored by the Office of the Dean of the Graduate School
and the Office for University Women (OUW), will be presented at the
OUW spring celebration. April 24, 2:30-4:30 p.m., McNamara Alumni
Center, UMTC. For more information or to RSVP, call
612-625-9837.
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: For Ferulate 08, an international conference on
hydroxycinnamates and related plant phenolics, to be held at UMTC,
Aug. 25-27. Submission deadline is April 20. For more information
or to submit an abstract, see Ferulate 08
or e-mail ferulate@umn.edu.
UMC RECEIVES A GIFT OF MORE THAN $260,000 from the estate of
Stanley and Hanorah "Pat" Alseth, of Baltimore, Md. Stanley Alseth
was a 1935 graduate of the Northwest School of Agriculture, the
residential high school located on what is now UMC. Read the
news
release.
UMC ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR MARK HUGLEN will be one of three U faculty
discussing the need for interdisciplinarity, April 10, UMTC. (See
details in U-wide section.)
BUSINESS ACTIVITIES DAY, hosted by the UMC Business Department,
March 26, drew 121 students from seven area high schools, who
competed in 11 business-related activities. Read the news
release.
UMD WOMEN'S HOCKEY TEAM WINS 2008 NCAA national championship, by
defeating the University of Wisconsin 4-0 in the final game, March
22, in Duluth. This is the fourth NCAA championship for the
Bulldogs, who closed out their 2007-08 season with a record of
34-3-1, the best ever by a UMD squad. The Bulldogs won their first
three titles in 2001, 2002, and 2003 and have been coached by
Shannon Miller since 1999.
FOUR FACULTY MEMBERS AND 15 STUDENTS will represent UMD at the
National Conference on Undergraduate Education Research, April
10-12, Salisbury University, Maryland. The goal of the event, which
will see more than 2,200 undergraduates from 300 colleges and
universities nationwide, is to promote undergraduate research in
all fields.
ASTRONOMERS HAVE RECOGNIZED PAUL MYERS, UMM associate professor
of biology, by naming an asteroid in his honor. The asteroid, which
was discovered on March 29, 2001, by David Healy and Jeff Medkeff
at an observatory in Arizona and was numbered 153298, is now
officially known as "Paulmyers." It's customary that the discoverer
of an asteroid has the privilege of proposing a name for it.
Listen
to an MPR interview with Myers.
THE 35TH ANNUAL HENJUM CREATIVE STUDY INSTITUTE will be held June
16-27 and will feature art, music, and technology topics for
students ages 12-17. Participants who sign up before April 20 may
qualify for discounts and scholarships. Registration deadline is
June 11. Read the news
release.
STEPHEN LEHMKUHLE WILL BE INAUGURATED as UMR'S first chancellor
April 4. The ceremony will be held in Phillips Hall, Mayo campus; a
reception will follow at UMR. More than 300 people are expected to
attend. Free and open to the public.
UMR AND ROCHESTER AREA ALUMNI hosted more than 90 community members
on March 19 for "Minnesota's Climate: Lessons From the Past and
Implications for the Future," a talk by Mark Seeley, U
meteorologist and coauthor of Minnesota Weather
Almanac.
CANCER PREVENTION from an economic perspective was the topic of a
March 27 town hall meeting at UMR cohosted by the Rochester Area
Chamber of Commerce and Mayo Clinic Cancer Center. Nationally
acclaimed speakers discussed the benefits of cancer screening and
other healthy behaviors, the financial implications of a healthier
workforce, and the future of cancer prevention research.
ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT WILL MOVE MAY 21 to the new Herbert M.
Hanson building on the West Bank, along with the Carlson School of
Management undergraduate program. The new address is 1925 4th St.
S., Suite 4-101, Minneapolis, MN 55455. All phone numbers will
remain the same.
UPLAN WELLNESS ASSESSMENT: If you haven't completed the UPlan
wellness assessment for 2008, the deadline to earn wellness rewards
is April 30. To learn more, visit Human Resources.
TRANSITIONING TO THE NEW STUDENT RATING OF TEACHING FORM: The new
form will be used this spring to assess teaching at the U. Three
one-hour sessions will be held on April 7, 14, and 15 to introduce
faculty and instructional staff to the contents of the form, how it
will be scored, resources for supporting instructional development,
and how to document the results. No registration is necessary, and
refreshments will be served. For times and campus locations, visit
Human
Resources. (See related item below: "Theater for Teaching and
Learning.")
"COMMERCIALIZING TECHNOLOGY WITHIN A LARGE COMPANY," a 3M-sponsored
seminar series for graduate students in science and
technology-related colleges. April 7, 5-7 p.m., 3M Auditorium,
Carlson School. To register, e-mail hce@umn.edu. For more information, see
Carlson
seminars.
"WATER AND THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES," by Roxanne
Ornelas, postdoc fellow in the U's Program on Race, Gender, and
Public Policy, will explore the relationship between indigenous
cultures and water and the recently adopted United Nations
Declaration on the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples. April 2,
12:15-1:15 p.m., 35 Mondale Hall.
"HAS HIGHER ED ABANDONED ITS PUBLIC PURPOSE?" by Anne Neal,
American Council of Trustees and Alumni; response by Phil Tichenor,
professor emeritus, School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
April 3, 12:15-1:30 p.m., 50 Mondale Hall.
"THE NEXT AUTHORIZATION: TRANSFORMING TRANSPORTATION POLICY?" is
the topic of the seventh Oberstar Forum on Transportation Policy
and Technology, sponsored by the Center for Transportation Studies.
Rep. Jim Oberstar and Rep. Tim Walz will discuss the federal
transportation act that will succeed SAFETEA-LU, which expires in
2009. Apr. 7, 12:30-4:30 p.m., Radisson Hotel Metrodome. Free, but
space is limited. To register and learn more, visit CTS.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MUSIC AND THE SENSE OF MOTION will be
explored in "Music, Motion, and Subjectivity," a presentation by
Eric Clarke, Oxford University. The event, cosponsored by the
School of Music and CLA, will include a Q&A. April 7, 3:30-5
p.m., 280 Ferguson Hall.
FOURTH ANNUAL FILM FESTIVAL by the School of Public Health and
Minnesota Public Health will include A Crude Awakening: The Oil
Crash, April 7, 6:15 p.m.; Salud!, April 8;
Unnatural Causes, April 9; and Sex Ed and the
Statem, a documentary by SPH graduate Jim Winkle, April 11.
All films are 5:30 p.m., Mayo Memorial Auditorium, unless noted.
Introductions by public health experts, and Q&A after each
film. To learn more, visit SPH.
HELP "STOCK THE TRAILER" with non-perishable food items and cash
donations to benefit the Second Harvest Heartland food shelf. April
10, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., and April 12, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., outside St. Paul
Student Center. The activity is part of the 92nd Annual Minnesota
Royal, April 7-12. For a complete list of events, visit CFANS.
UNIVERSITY OPERA THEATRE presents Monteverdi's The Coronation
of Poppea, in Italian with supertitles; directed by associate
professor of music David Walsh, April 10-12, 7:30 p.m., and April
13, 1:30 p.m., Ted Mann Concert Hall. Tickets are $20 ($10
students); call 612-624-2345 or buy online.
THEATER FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING will present a series of
theatrical sketches related to student ratings of teaching. The
sketches will be followed by a discussion on the research
surrounding teaching evaluations and how they can be used to
improve one's teaching. No registration is necessary. April 17,
noon-1:30 p.m., 402 Walter Library.
APRIL IS SEXUAL AWARENESS MONTH, and the Aurora Center for Advocacy
and Education Sexual Assault is hosting the film DreamWorlds
III, April 4, 12:30 p.m., Club Room, Yudof Hall; table
displays ("Taking Action" and "T-Shirt Project"), April 10, 10
a.m.-2 p.m., and April 16, 1-4 p.m., and April 23, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.;
a rally ("Take Back the Night"), April 24, 6:30 p.m., Loring Park;
and an improv show ("Sex Signals"), April 28, 7 p.m., Coffman
Theater, 7 p.m.
FINDING HAPPINESS is the theme of the Annual Ruth Stricker Lecture
by the Center for Spirituality and Healing. Keynote speaker
Matthieu Ricard will present "Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain:
Cultivating Inner Conditions for Genuine Happiness," April 18, 3-4
p.m., Northrop Auditorium; panel discussion and Q&A follow.
Free, but registration is required. To learn more, visit CSH.
MORE EVENTS include "Writing Correspondence for Internal and
External Audiences" (April
3); "Dirty Laundry" (April
4); "QM08@MSP," conference on global and local sexualities
(April
5); "Web of Science vs. Google Scholar Smackdown" (April
8). 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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