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Vol. XXXVIII No. 39; December 3, 2008
Editor: Adam Overland, brief@umn.edu
Inside This Issue
--The U is developing partnerships with sub-Saharan African
universities
--"The Minnesota Tradition of Fair Elections" conference will take
place at the Humphrey Institute
--People: The President's Award for Outstanding Service is now
accepting nominations; and more.
Campus Announcements and Events
University-wide | Crookston |
Duluth | Morris | Rochester | Twin Cities
PARTNERSHIPS WITH SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES are developing as the University focuses its efforts there. Robert Jones, senior vice president, and Meredith McQuaid, associate vice president and dean for international programs, have made two recent trips to African nations to explore potential partnerships with universities and to work with leaders in those countries to secure funding for capacity-building projects. For more information, read Opportunity in Africa. OIP is a part of the office for System Academic Administration.
"THE MINNESOTA TRADITION OF FAIR ELECTIONS" CONFERENCE will take place at the Humphrey Institute's Center for the Study of Politics and Governance. Panelists will include vice president Walter Mondale, congressman Jim Ramstad, Minnesota secretary of state Mark Ritchie, former Elmer Andersen chief of staff Tom Swain, and national and regional experts on the election process. The conference comes in the midst of the recount in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race between incumbent senator Norm Coleman and challenger Al Franken, anticipated to be one of the closest in Minnesota history. Dec. 10, 9:30-11:45 a.m., Cowles Auditorium, Humphrey Center.
PEOPLE: The President's Award for Outstanding Service is now accepting nominations; Read about these topics and more in People.
CAMPUS ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS
"VIDEO ON CAMPUS: PRESENT AND FUTURE," will focus on how video can support the U's land-grant mission of teaching, research, and outreach. Panelists will discuss infrastructure, technology, services, and dissemination options. Topics include course guide videos, enterprise media storage and management, Web and video conferencing, ResearchChannel, Big Ten Network, and more. Dec. 10, 12-1:30 p.m., 402 Walter Library. For more information, see video on campus.
ARTS, HUMANITIES, AND DESIGN ANNUAL AWARD APPLICATIONS ARE NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE: As part the U's new Imagine Fund, supported by a grant from the McKnight Foundation, up to 250 annual awards of $3,000 each are available. All tenured/tenure-track arts, humanities, and design faculty across the University system are eligible. The application deadline is Feb. 1. For more information and the online application form, see Imagine Fund.
THE RESEARCHCHANNEL ADVISORY COMMITTEE IS REQUESTING VIDEOS about U research and discovery for the next round of submissions. The ResearchChannel brings together leading research and academic institutions to share the work of their researchers with the public through video programs available via satellite and cable television and its Web site. Colleges, departments, and centers may submit programs. Units selected in the first round include the College of Education and Human Development (research on after-school programs and GoNorth!); the Institute on the Environment (climate change, biofuels, Cedar Creek biodiversity research, and the institute as a whole); the College of Continuing Education (a "Great Conversation" with Daniel Ellsberg and a feature on teaching U.S. history 1865-present); and University Relations (three shorts on the St. Anthony Falls lab, greenhouse gas reductions, and MySpace for teens). Submissions for the second round will be accepted Jan. 5-30. For more information, see OIT Video Solutions or the ResearchChannel.
CALL FOR PROPOSALS: The Consortium on Law and Values in Health, Environment & the Life Sciences is issuing a call for proposals addressing the societal implications of problems in health, environment, or the life sciences. Awards are available for graduate/professional students, individual faculty, and consortium/joint degree program members. Proposals are due in March 2009 for research in the summer or academic year 2009-10. For more information, see proposals. Direct questions to Audrey Boyle.
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP PROGRAM (TLP) returned to Duluth for the third cohort of the leadership development opportunity for faculty and staff. TLP challenges participants and their executive sponsors to successfully lead teams in driving improvement projects that directly benefit groups of U faculty, students, or staff. Fourteen U staff and faculty members make up this year's training class, including three participants from the Twin Cities campus, two from U of M Extension Services, and nine from UMD. For more information, see Transformational Leadership.
THE AMETHYST INITIATIVE DEBATE: RETHINKING THE DRINKING AGE. The Office for Student Affairs will host a free online seminar during which the pros and cons of changing the legal drinking age will be debated by John McCardell and higher education risk-management expert Brett Sokolow, among other panelists. Following the seminar there will be a 30-minute panel discussion. Dec. 12, 12-1 p.m., Coffman Union. For more information, see Amethyst Initiative.
EMPLOYEE PROFILE: University Historian Ann Pflaum has been at the U for more than 40 years, but she still finds herself learning something new every week. For more information, listen to Ann Pflaum.
LEARN ABOUT TOBACCO CESSATION at a noon luncheon Dec. 4 and Dec. 10, Brown Dining Hall. Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to ask questions as the Crookston campus prepares to go tobacco-free Jan. 1. For more information, e-mail Stacey Grunewald.
THE HUMMINGBIRDS, a story of two sisters and the tie that binds them, will be presented by UMD Theatre Dec. 4-6, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 7, 2 p.m.; and Dec. 9-13, 7:30 p.m., Dudley Experimental Theatre, Marshall Performing Arts Center. For tickets call 218-726-8561 or visit the theater online.
UMD DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC PRESENTS two "Sounds of the Seasons" concerts, Dec. 7, Weber Music Hall. The UMD Choral Concert, featuring the Concert Chorale, University Singers, Chamber Singers, and small-instrumental chamber singers, will take place at 1:30 p.m., and the UMD Band Concert will be held at 4 p.m. For more information or tickets, call 218-726-8877 or see UMD music.
COUGAR SPORTS NETWORK (CSN) is online for the tip-off of the 2008-09 Cougar basketball season. CSN utilizes Web technology to bring Cougar athletics to fans by way of a free, easy-to-use portal. CSN will provide live video and audio along with real-time game statistics. For more information, see Cougar Sports Network.
LANDSCAPE PAINTINGS FOR THE LIFE CENTER at the Stevens Community Medical Center were produced by students in Michael Eble's Beginning and Advanced Painting I classes. A public reception to unveil the new paintings will take place Dec. 11, 4:30- 6 p.m., SCMC Life Center. For more information, see Life Center.
DAVE MONA, WCCO RADIO PERSONALITY AND HOST OF SPORTS HUDDLE, will be at UMR to promote his new book Beyond the Sports Huddle: Mona on Minnesota. Mona will autograph copies of his book at M Gear, University Square. Five percent of all purchases made at M Gear that day will be donated to UMR scholarships. Dec. 9, 4-6 p.m. At 7 p.m., fans can attend a dinner at Michael's Restaurant to hear Mona discuss his experience cohosting the Sports Huddle with Sid Hartman. For more information, see Sports Huddle.
DEAN BRIAN ATWOOD of the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs will participate in the Headliners series on the St. Paul campus. Atwood will draw on his first-hand experience in the Clinton administration to shed light on President-elect Obama's move to the White House. After leading the Clinton administration's State Department transition team, Atwood served for six years as administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development. Dec. 4, 7 p.m., Continuing Education and Conference Center. For more information, call 612-624-4000 or see Headliners.
IN ITS 40TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON, THE LAR LUBOVITCH DANCE COMPANY will present a performance of modern dance Dec. 5, 8 p.m., Northrop. Staff and faculty receive $4 off regular ticket prices, or they may purchase rush tickets the day of the performance for $20. Gift certificates are available for a variety of performances during the holiday season. For more information, see Northrop or call 612-624-2345.
UNIVERSITY CATERING NOW OFFERS AN ONLINE ORDERING SYSTEM for delivery orders. The system is called CaterTrax. University Catering provides catering services to UMTC, to the suites and lofts at Mariucci and Williams arenas, and to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. For more information, see University Catering or call 612-624-7173.
YEAR-END PARTY DEALS for U faculty and staff can be found at Goldy's Gameroom and the Gopher Spot. U employees receive 25 percent off the reservation rate for time, and 10 percent off food. For more information, call Stephanie Broom at 612-625-7707 or see holiday party deals.
MORE EVENTS include Nature Tots: Winter Animals (Dec. 4); Program honors founders Vecoli and Chambers (Dec. 5); Kung Fu sample class (Dec. 6); Arboretum auxiliary holiday sale (Dec. 7); Seminar: Spatiotemporal Analysis of West Nile Virus Incidences in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area (Dec. 8); Health care conference with Governor Tim Pawlenty (Dec. 9). SEE THESE AND MORE TWIN CITIES CAMPUS EVENTS.
Published by Internal Communications in the Office of 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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