People
Faculty & Staff Website
http://www1.umn.edu/twincities/faculty-staff/
Faculty & Staff Website
http://www1.umn.edu/twincities/faculty-staff/
By Adam Overland
Gopher athletics director Joel Maturi will step down at the end of his current contract, which expires June 30.
February 8
To submit U of M staff or faculty for consideration in People, contact the Brief editor.
Gopher athletics director Joel Maturi will retire in June
After a decade of successfully leading UMTC athletics, Joel Maturi will step down at the end of his current contract, which expires June 30.
For the following year, Maturi will remain a member of the University community, assisting with course development and teaching classes in the College of Education and Human Development’s Department of Kinesiology, helping the University with fund raising and working on special projects assigned by the president.
Throughout his tenure, Maturi’s priority has been to make sure student athletes received an education and earned their degrees. He worked tirelessly to make sure they had a meaningful and positive athletic experience, and that the affairs of Gopher athletics would be conducted with integrity, candor, and compliance.
During his 10 years of service to the University, Maturi oversaw the difficult merger of the men’s and women’s athletic departments, the grueling fund raising and construction of TCF Bank Stadium, and men’s and women’s hockey and wrestling national championship titles. Golden Gopher athletes have won more than 40 Big Ten or WCHA championships during Maturi’s tenure.
The University will form a selection committee and begin an inclusive national search for the next director of athletics that seeks input from a variety of stakeholders. President Kaler said he hopes to have a new director in place by July 1. For more information, see the news release.
U in the News: A selection of U faculty in the news
Good Question: Have All Presidents Been Wealthy?
There’s no question that the two Republican front-runners in the race for president are rich… Wealth has become an issue in the campaign, and it raises an interesting question: Has there ever been a common man as president? “They’re not common men, let’s put it that way,” said Hy Berman, a University of Minnesota professor of history. WCCO-TV.
Diversified Americans resisting census race labels
When the 2010 census asked people to classify themselves by race, more than 21.7 million — at least 1 in 14 — went beyond the standard labels and wrote in such terms as "Arab," "Haitian," "Mexican" and "multiracial."…"It's a continual problem to measure such a personal concept using a check box," said Carolyn Liebler, a sociology professor at the University of Minnesota who specializes in demography, identity and race. Seattle Times.
On campus beat: U's new No. 2 knows campus
The new University of Minnesota president touts his connections with the place. But in a dozen ways, his new second-in-command has him beat. Not only is Karen Hanson, like Eric Kaler, an alum, but so are her father and two brothers. Star Tribune.
Experts Link Food Dyes To Behavioral Problems In Children
As busy parents, we don’t always make the healthiest choices for ourselves but when it’s meal time, we try to make the best choices for our kids… Ted Labuza, a professor of Food and Science at the University of Minnesota, said he believes it comes down to customers making choices. WCCO-TV.
Romney's Unlikely And Persuasive Defense Of The 'Individual Mandate'
For a candidate who keeps vowing to repeal the 2010 federal Affordable Care Act, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney sure can make a convincing argument on its behalf…"We find the state is continuing to do quite well in terms of maintaining high levels of health insurance coverage and improvements in access to care," said lead author Sharon Long of the University of Minnesota and the Urban Institute. National Public Radio.
Couples who argue together stay together
When Bob Gubrud heard about a survey saying that arguing with your spouse at least once a week makes for stronger, longer marriages, he chuckled as he quipped sarcastically, "That must mean that our marriage is fantastic, because sometimes we have one a day."…While that survey was done in India, it reinforces similar studies that have been done in the United States, said William Doherty, a professor in the University of Minnesota's Department of Family Social Science. Star Tribune.
Obituary: Arthur Ballet was a beloved teacher, a withering wit
His classes at the University of Minnesota were famously popular with students for more than 25 years. Star Tribune.
February 1
To submit U of M staff or faculty for consideration in People, contact the Brief editor.
2012 McKnight Land-Grant Professorships
Yingling Fan is one of six recipients of this year's McKnight Land-Grant Professorships.The Office of the Vice President for Research is pleased to announce the 2012 recipients of the McKnight Land-Grant Professorships. 2012 recipients of the McKnight Land-Grant Professorships are Yingling Fan, Joshua Feinberg, Melissa Gardner, Jason Hill, Daniel Keefe, and Dominique Tobbell. As always, the ideas and work of this year's recipients vary widely—from integrated urban planning and mineral magnetism to interactive visual computing. Through this program, the University of Minnesota recognizes and rewards its most promising junior faculty. Recipients are honored with the title McKnight Land-Grant Professor, which they hold for two years. The award consists of a research grant in each of two years and a research leave in the second year (or a supplementary grant). For more information and a descprition of the recipients and their research, see McKnight 2012.
National Book Critics Circle Award
The University of Minnesota Press book, Out of the Vinyl Deeps: Ellen Willis on Rock Music, has been selected as a finalist in the criticism category for a National Book Critics Circle Award. For more information, see University Press.
U in the News: A selection of U faculty in the news
What's taking ET so long to find us?
Mathematically speaking, ET should have found us by now - if he exists - so we're being consciously avoided for some reason, a new study concludes…University of Minnesota physicist Woods Halley, who just published a book about the prospects of extraterrestrial life, says we don't know enough about how life got started on Earth to be able to recognise alien life, even if it were staring us in the face. ABC Science.
USDA: Milder winters mean some changes in plant hardiness zones
It's still too cold for Japanese maples and flowering dogwoods, but warmer winters have shifted the Twin Cities into a new plant-hardiness zone, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday… University of Minnesota Extension climatologist and meteorologist Mark Seeley said he wasn't surprised by the shifts. Pioneer Press.
Maze of Minneapolis skyways: A dead end?
Once the pride of Minneapolis, the city's 8 miles of skyways have become a villain in the vision for downtown's future..."It's way too mysterious," said Tom Fisher, dean of the University of Minnesota's College of Design. "And you shouldn't have to go into like hotel or bank lobbies. It should be easier." Star Tribune.
How valuable is water?
Turns out we don't know. But the federal government thinks we should. Now, Steve Polasky, a University of Minnesota expert on economics and the environment is heading a new scientific advisory panel for the Environmental Protection Agency charged with establishing the economic value of clean water. Star Tribune.
Minn. researchers study standing vs. sitting at a desk
Minnesota researchers set up special work stations at a Minneapolis business Tuesday to assess the health benefits of standing rather than sitting at a desk. Steven Stovitz, a family medicine and community health associate professor at the University of Minnesota, is one of the lead investigators on the study, heads a team that will measure how standing affects muscle tone, blood pressure and an employee's sense of well-being. Minnesota Public Radio.
Does Peeing On Your Plants Actually Help Them?
Science is a wonderful adjunct to gardening, offering effective, well-informed techniques to boost the health and productivity of your plants. Like peeing on them… That’s what Linden Hills resident and long-time gardener Meleah Maynard discovered—along with a whole host of other tips—when she and co-author Jeff Gillman set out to rewrite the book, as it were, on gardening tips, sorting the old wives’ tales from the reputable bits of advice... Trying to clear the air, Meleah Maynard and Jeff Gillman, a University of Minnesota researcher, took a laundry list of purported gardening tips and tricks, and went back to the scientific literature to see if they could back those up. Southwest Minneapolis Patch.