Vol. XXXVIII No. 6; Feb. 13, 2008
Interim editor: Pauline Oo, brief@umn.edu

Read Brief on the Web at http://www1.umn.edu/umnnews/Publications/Brief.html.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE
--Postdoc's blog offers smart take on politics
--People: Elaine Tarone will lead CARLA full time; Lawrencina Oramalu and Cyrenthia Jordan have joined the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action; and more.

Campus Announcements and Events
University-wide | Crookston | Duluth | Morris | Twin Cities

The Smart Politics blog--written by postdoctorate Eric Ostermeier--is a destination for both political junkies and casual observers looking for a more expansive take on the latest political trends and stories. Read "A smart look at politics."

PEOPLE: Elaine Tarone will be the full-time director of the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition, beginning Aug. 1; Lawrencina Oramalu and Cyrenthia Jordan are new Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action consultants; School of Journalism and Mass Communication lecturer Gayle "GG" Golden won the 2007 best feature story silver award from the Minnesota Magazine and Publications Association. Read about these and more awards and appointments in People.

CAMPUS ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS

University-wide:

PRESIDENT BRUININKS TO TESTIFY at legislative committee hearings about the U's 2008 capital request: House Higher Education and Workforce Development Policy and Finance Division, Feb. 14, 12:30-2 p.m., Room 5, State Office Building; and Senate Higher Education Budget and Policy Division, Feb. 21, 12:30-1:30 p.m., Room 123, State Capitol. For more information, including a video on the U's request, see Government Relations.

AT THE REGENTS MEETING Feb. 8 President Bruininks gave an update on the U's sustainability efforts and a presentation on access and affordability for students and the role tuition plays in the U's budget. The presentation highlighted national trends, recently enacted tuition reforms, and financial aid the U is providing, including the Founders Free Tuition Program. At the meeting, the regents also approved David Wippman as new Law School dean, starting July 1. Read more about Wippman at UMNnews.

U RANKED IN TOP 100 BEST FLEETS in North America for the third consecutive year. About 38,000 public fleets and 1,350 groups applied for the award, including the U's Parking and Transportation Services. The U has a fleet of 924 vehicles--cars, vans, trucks, and SUVs--including 37 hybrids. Read the news release.

CENTER FOR READING RESEARCH in the College of Education and Human Development recognized 19 Minnesota schools for achievement in reading (under No Child Left Behind during school years 2005-06 and 2006-07) after failing to make adequate yearly progress in previous years. Presentation ceremony Feb. 22, 11 a.m., CEHD Conference Center, UMTC. For more information, including a list of school winners, visit CEHD or read the news release.

U RECEIVES TWO GRANTS TO IMPROVE STUDENT ATTENDANCE and retention from the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. The recipients were U associate professor of educational psychology Ernest Davenport--$23,000 to fund an ACT/SAT preparation course for at-risk students--and the Office for Equity and Diversity's Maadaadizi (Start a Journey) program--$36,000 for 60 American Indian students to participate in career and college planning sessions). Read the news release.

WEBMAIL PRO AND WEBMAIL 3.0 will be decommissioned July 1. GopherMail will continue as a Web-based e-mail application for central e-mail accounts. WebMail Pro and 3.0 users can begin using GopherMail immediately. WebMail Pro for non-central systems mail used by department e-mail servers also will be decommissioned. Send questions or comments to webmail@umn.edu.

MORE THAN 250 ORGANIZATIONS will be recruiting at the U's Job and Internship Fair, Feb. 25, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Minneapolis Convention Center. The Fair is free and open to all undergraduates, graduate students, and alumni from the last three years. For a complete list of organizations or to register, see job fair.

Crookston:

STUDENTS IN FREE ENTREPRISE will host business development specialist Diane Morey from the Northwest Minnesota Foundation (NMF) for a presentation on the NMF Entrepreneur Development Program, Feb. 11, 4 p.m., Bede Ballroom. Read news release.

FARM-SCALE BIODIESEL PROJECT is up and running at UMC. The project will look at opportunities for individual farmers or farm groups to produce their own biodiesel from crops like canola and sunflowers. Ag systems management and agronomy double major Jade Estling received an undergraduate research grant to operate the pilot plant for testing and research under the guidance of assistant professor Paul Aakre. His work will determine if pellet byproducts of crushed seeds could be used for animal feed or as a source of biomass. Canola growers in northwestern Minnesota initiated the project.

UMC WILL USE TEXT MESSAGES to notify students, staff, and faculty of emergencies and campus closings, beginning Feb. 12. UMC is the second campus to roll out TXT-U, the U's new emergency notification system that uses text messages to deliver emergency notices to cell phones and PDAs; register online.

Duluth:

UMD THEATRE DEPARTMENT student Martha Gagliardi is one of two winners of the Irene Ryan Scholarship audition held in Omaha, Nebraska, as part of the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. Gagliardi, along with 15 other actors, will compete for the national prize in Washington, D.C., in April. A total of 343 undergraduate and graduate students from seven states competed in the Omaha audition. This is the fifth time in the last eight years that UMD has had an Irene Ryan Scholarship winner.

UMD MUSIC DEPARTMENT presents Ovation Guest Artist Series Concert with Grammy Award winner Sharon Isbin (guitar), Feb. 19, 7:30 p.m., Weber Music Hall. Isbin, featured on the soundtrack of Martin Scorsese's Academy Award winning The Departed (2006), will perform with Spaniard Gemma Coma-Alabert (mezzo soprano). The event is sponsored by Charles and Carolyn Russell. Tickets are $30 ($25 for seniors, $15 for students). All seats are reserved, and advance purchase is recommended. For more information, see music events.

"THE AMERICAN INDIANS IN MINNESOTA: Personal Histories" series features authors Heid Erdrich and Lise Erdrich, Feb. 14, 7 p.m., Kirby Student Center Ballroom. Heid Erdrich is author of three collections of poetry, The Mother's Tongue, National Monuments, and Fishing for Myth, each of which has been nominated for the Minnesota Book Awards. Lise Erdrich is the author of Night Train, Bears Make Rock Soup, and Sacagawea. The event is presented by the UMD American Indian Learning Resource Center.

Morris:

UMM YOUNG ALUMNI SERVICE PROJECT participants will volunteer at the nonprofit Feed My Starving Children in Brooklyn Park, March 13, 6-7:30 p.m. For more information, e-mail Erin Schellin at schellin@morris.umn.edu, call 320-589-6067, or see alumni project.

NOW ONLINE: the presentation "Reinventing a Green Learning Environment: 'Scripting' a Sustainable Campus," by Chancellor Johnson; Lowell Rasmussen, associate vice chancellor for physical plant and master planning; and Sandy Olson-Loy, vice chancellor for student affairs. The presentation was given during the American Colleges and Universities Annual meeting in Washington, D.C.; see green campus PDF.

Twin Cities:

REFURBISHED COMPUTER EQUIPMENT AND STOCKED PARTS can no longer be purchased from University Computer Services (UCS). An RFP is under way to secure a new location for storing and selling such equipment. Microsoft software pickup and the U Rent-a-Guru program are still running at UCS, and UCS will also continue to pick up computer products from departments free of charge. For updates, check UCS.

OPPORTUNITY FOR FACULTY AND STAFF to develop personal relationships with students and help fraternities and sororities connect to resources on campus: Fraternity and Sorority Faculty/Staff Adviser Program. The U has 46 chapters, including 10 multicultural organizations. For more information or if you are willing to offer advice, expertise, and perspective to a fraternity or sorority, contact Chad Ellsworth at Office for Fraternity and Sorority Life, 612-624-7659 or ellsw017@umn.edu.

ARBORETUM SEEKS VOLUNTEERS to lead daily walking and bus tours for visitors May-October. Applicants should have a strong interest in plants and gardening and a desire to share their enthusiasm with others. Guides attend a mandatory 12-session training program and make a commitment to lead at least 10 tours. For more information or to apply, contact Liz Nystrom at 952-443-1437 or nystr008@umn.edu.

HOSTS NEEDED FOR COLLEGE-AGED INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS who will attend an orientation at UMTC, Feb. 25-26 and March 31-April 1. Hosts provide room and board, as well as transportation to and from the orientation; the orientation schedule works conveniently around work schedules. To learn more, e-mail Susan VonBank at svonbank@umn.edu, call 612-625-8797, or see MAST International.

CONVERSATIONS ON MANAGING THE MORTGAGE CRISIS in North Minneapolis, an area with one of the highest foreclosure rates in the state. Today, 2:30-4 p.m., 306 Folwell Hall. If you represent an organization or group working on this topic, the Institute for Advanced Study invites you to bring materials for the resource table. Questions, call 612-626-5149.

WORKING THROUGH ARCHITECTURE lecture series with School of Architecture faculty includes "Sinan: Tradition in Transformation," Feb. 19; "Cass Gilbert: Reimagining the Western Landscape," Feb. 26; and "Adolf Loos Readymade," March 4. For a complete schedule of speakers and topics, see College of Design. All events are free; 7-8:30 p.m., Pohlad Hall, Minneapolis Central Library.

"WE ARE WHAT WE EAT: A Conversation on Sustainability," by Anne Kapuscinski, director of the Institute for Social Economic and Ecological Sustainability; Dana Jackson, coauthor of The Farm as Natural Habitat: Reconnecting Food Systems With Ecosystems; and Bud Markhart, director of the Student Organic Farm. Speakers will talk about where our food comes from, the state of current agriculture, and why we need to care. Feb. 21, noon-1:30 p.m., Mississippi Room, Coffman Union. RSVP sustainu@umn.edu by Feb. 20 for free lunch.

CENTER FOR WRITING--Teaching With Writing Program for spring semester: "Grading Student Writing," Feb. 22, noon-1:30 p.m. 10 McNeal Hall; "Responding to Nonnative Graduate Writers," Feb. 27, 2:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m., 101 Walter; "It's All About Efficiency," lunch and conversation for TAs who teach with writing, March 5, noon-1:30 p.m., West Bank location TBA; "Teaching With Writing Online," March 7, noon-1:30 p.m., 101 Walter Library. To learn more or register, see Center for Writing or call 612-626-7579.

"THE AGE OF TERROR" is the Department of American Studies colloquium series; a presentation by Anouar Majid of New England University will address the "war on terror" from a global perspective. Feb. 25, 3:30 p.m., 101 Walter Library. Reception follows. For more information, e-mail amstdy@umn.edu or call 612-624-4190.

MORE EVENTS include Selling Murder: The Killing Films of the Third Reich and Opfer der Vergangenheit, films and commentary (Feb. 14); "Becoming Minnesota: A Sesquicentennial Sampler" (Feb. 15); Honoring Our Legacy: a celebration of the latest Black Heritage stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service (Feb. 16); IT Week/Engineers Week (Feb. 17-23); "Are we bowling alone? Findings from the American Time Use Survey" (Feb. 18). 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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