Vol. XXXVII No. 36; Nov. 14, 2007
Editor: Gayla Marty, brief@umn.edu

Read Brief on the Web at http://www.umn.edu/umnnews/Publications/Brief/Brief_11142007.html.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The next issue of Brief will be published Nov. 28. The deadline to submit items is Nov. 21.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE
--Interdisciplinary network, formed to share best practices and shape policy, will meet Nov. 19.
--International Education Week: Study abroad number ranks high nationally and is growing.
--Civil Service Committee met in Morris.
--People: President Bruininks will chair NASULGC board of directors; two nursing professors elected to the American Academy of Nursing; and more.

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

INTERDISCIPLINARY NETWORK: When Ray Newman studies a new aquatic species entering a Minnesota river or lake, he's in deep water in more ways than one. Newman has overcome significant challenges to accomplish interdisciplinary work that led to a new, federally funded freestanding minor involving faculty from 16 departments. In the process, he has learned a lot that could help others across the U overcome similar challenges. That's why Newman is one of nearly 200 faculty, staff, and postdoctoral fellows across the system who have joined the Network of Interdisciplinary Initiatives, which will meet Nov. 19, 3-5 p.m., at UMTC and UMD. Read more in "At the front lines of interdisciplinary inquiry."

INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION WEEK: UMTC ranks sixth in the nation for the number of students who study abroad, according to the 2007 Open Doors report on international student mobility, released Nov. 12. Study abroad as well as international student numbers are up. Dozens of events are scheduled U-wide to celebrate the week, Nov. 12-16. Read the news release. A new undergraduate study abroad requirement, the first of its kind among public universities, is one of several curriculum changes announced by the Carlson School of Management this fall; read the announcement.

THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMITTEE MET IN MORRIS Oct. 25. Chancellor Johnson welcomed the group, and after the business meeting, they heard about UMM's green campus initiatives from physical plant director Lowell Rasmussen and toured the campus. Read a review.

PEOPLE: President Bruininks will chair the board of directors for the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC) for a one-year term; nursing professors Christine Mueller and Linda Olson Keller have been elected to the American Academy of Nursing; Humphrey Institute senior fellow emerita Arvonne Fraser received an Outstanding Achievement Award Nov. 6; and more. Read about these and more awards and appointments in People.

CAMPUS ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS

University-wide:

NOMINATIONS FOR DISTINGUISHED McKNIGHT UNIVERSITY PROFESSORSHIPS are invited by the Graduate School and the Office of the Provost. The awards support the U's most outstanding mid-career faculty members who have recently achieved full-professor status. Deadline: Jan. 7. See more information, including nomination instructions.

RESEARCH AND CREATIVE COLLABORATIVES, through the Institute for Advanced Study, support research and creative projects of interdisciplinary teams of researchers, scholars, and artists. This year, the work of 28 faculty conveners from 19 departments and 9 colleges in 10 interdisciplinary collaboratives is being supported. Deadline for 2008-09: Feb. 1. See more information.

ACADEMIC AND CORPORATE RELATIONS CENTER received the Tekne Award for Innovative Collaboration Nov. 1. The center serves as an access point to U resources for industries. See the news release.

PLANS FOR A TRIBUTE TO MINNESOTA VETERANS, past, present, and future, in the new Gopher stadium will be unveiled at UMTC Student Veterans Appreciation Day events today, beginning at 11:30 a.m., Northrop Plaza. Information will be posted on the stadium Web site.

THE 2006 SHAPE SURVEY by the School of Public Health (SPH) and Hennepin County is the third in a series of nationally recognized surveys to collect information on the health of the county, Minnesota residents, and factors that affect their health. More than 10,000 households completed the survey, yielding information on 8,000 adults and 4,000 children. Learn more about possible research initiatives and student projects using SHAPE data, including how to access the data, in a presentation by the Hennepin-University Partnership. Opening comments by SPH dean John Finnegan and Hennepin County Public Health Division director Todd Monson. Nov. 27, 1:30-3 p.m., D199 Mayo Building. Register by Nov. 21 at biel0032@umn.edu . Read more about the SHAPE survey.

"TREE-OLOGY" REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS: The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum's summer 2008 juried exhibition will give a fresh look at trees in today's world with interactive public art along a tree-lined walk for visitors of all ages. A mandatory pre-proposal meeting will be held for artists and design firms interesting in entering works. Nov. 29, 1-3 p.m., at the arboretum's Oswald Visitor Center. Register by Nov. 28: e-mail dreez001@umn.edu or call 952-443-1425. See the call for entries.

FREE THURSDAYS AT THE MINNESOTA LANDSCAPE ARBORETUM have begun and continue through April 24. The arboretum will also remain open until 8 p.m. on Thursdays Nov. 29-Dec. 20. The auxiliary holiday sale will be Dec. 1-2. See the arboretum.

Crookston:

WRITING CENTER OPEN HOUSE, open to the community, will be Nov. 15, with a ribbon cutting at 2 p.m., 270 Owen Hall. See the news release.

THE MINNESOTA BOARD OF TEACHING is visiting Nov. 11-14 to evaluate UMC's proposal for institutional licensure to offer teacher education programs beyond the early childhood education program, birth through third grade, currently offered in cooperation with Bemidji State U. Preparation for the visit has been led by faculty members Soo-Yin Lim-Thompson, Marilyn Grave, and Marsha Odom. Read more about the early childhood education program.

GROWTH OF ONLINE DEGREE PROGRAMS AND HEALTH-RELATED DEGREE CURRICULUM--cooperative efforts with the Crookston Area Health Education Center (AHEC), in particular--were the topics of a campus faculty and staff visit Nov. 5 with vice provost and senior VP for academic affairs Billie Wahlstrom and assistant VP of Academic Health Center special programs Barbara Brandt.

Duluth:

"FROM DREAMS MAY WE LEARN" exhibition artist Robert Rabbett Before Horses Strickland, an Ojibwe artist and member of Wisconsin's Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, models his work after Renaissance masters and focuses on narrating Ojibwe mythology. He will speak Nov. 20, 6 p.m., lecture gallery, Tweed Museum of Art. Free; the public is cordially invited. The exhibition runs through Feb. 24. See exhibit information.

"NORTHERN LIGHTS," an introduction to the cause and character of auroras, will be presented as part of a weekly series, with a chance to stargaze using the Spitz A3P Star Machine. Nov. 21, 7 p.m., Marshall W. Alworth Planetarium. Programs are presented by planetarium staff, members of the Arrowhead Astronomical Society, or visiting professors. See the planetarium.

Morris:

ANNUAL UMM/CITY OF MORRIS OCTOBER BREAST CANCER AWARENESS FUND-RAISER helped to raise awareness and more than $750 for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure effort this year. More than 50 UMM student, staff, and faculty volunteers and off-campus residents knitted and crocheted scarves and hats to sell in the Student Center. See the news release.

A NEW WEATHER STATION, installed on top of the Science Building this year, is contributing to the Citizen's Weather Observation Program, which feeds climatic data to NASA and more than 4,000 universities and research institutions worldwide. It's also being used in physics classes. See the news release.

Rochester:

ROCHESTER-BASED U SCHOOL OF NURSING STUDENTS have provided more than 350 influenza vaccinations for members of the community and staff over the past two weeks and will continue through December. Ten senior nursing students are providing the vaccinations as part of an elective course in nursing, Immunizations for Populations. UMR students and staff have been working with Olmsted County public health influenza clinics and the Boynton Health Service to provide the service.

Twin Cities:

STUDENT VETERANS APPRECIATION DAY will honor veterans and highlight U initiatives to ease the transition to college life. Today's celebration--which will include a visit by Gov. Tim Pawlenty and an F-16 flyover--will begin at 11:30 a.m. on Northrop plaza. All veterans and their family members, faculty, staff, students, and the public are invited. A free chili lunch will be served in the Northrop Auditorium atrium while supplies last, and the program will begin at 12:15 p.m. The flyover is scheduled for 1 p.m. Read more about the event and new campus initiatives.

NEW PLANT PATHOLOGY RESEARCH FACILITY, 1907 Dudley Avenue, St. Paul, was dedicated Nov. 7. The $6 million facility is one of four in the nation, joining facilities in Maryland, Florida, and Hawaii. The project, built with U, state, federal, and private funding, is expected to draw scientists from institutions around the world to study infectious crop diseases and ways to manage them. See the news release, and read more in "Putting pathogens in their place."

EDUCATION SCIENCES BUILDING: PUBLIC ART entitled Garden of Mirrors, by assistant professor of art Andrea Stanislav, was installed Nov. 11 in the courtyard overlooking the river. The project incorporates Iron Range rock in tribute to the building's history as the site where the process for refining taconite was invented. Just inside, University Dining Services and the College of Education and Human Development will hold a grand opening celebration at the River Road Café, Nov. 27, 10 a.m. See the news release about the public art and the grand opening announcement.

A $2.5 MILLION STADIUM SPONSORSHIP from Edina-based Dairy Queen was announced Nov. 13. See the news release.

FULBRIGHT RECEPTION for past and present U.S. and international Fulbright recipients will be Nov. 15, 4-6 p.m., lobby, Ted Mann Concert Hall. RSVP to rmhelms@umn.edu or 612-626-5598.

FINALISTS FOR THE DIRECTOR OF CARLA--the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition--will give public presentations during campus visits: Michele de Courcy, U of Melbourne, Australia, Nov. 20, 4-6 p.m., 125 Nolte Center; Elaine Tarone, U of Minnesota, Nov. 27, 4:30-6:30 p.m., 125 Nolte Center; and Elizabeth Bernhardt, Stanford U, Dec. 6, 4:30-6:30 p.m., 140 Nolte Center. See more information.

THE GOPHER SPOT AND GOLDY'S GAMEROOM invite departments to book holiday parties. Each offers a large space, variety of packages, discounts on reservations, food, bowling, billiards, and more; alcohol permits are available. Contact the Gopher Spot (St. Paul Student Center) and Goldy's Gameroom (Coffman Union).

DISCOUNT TICKETS are available for Beowulf at the Minnesota Zoo IMAX theater, Twin Cities movie theaters, and skiing at Spirit Mountain. See discount deals at Coffman Union and the St. Paul Student Center.

"SUSTAINABLE CITIES: A CONVERSATION ON SUSTAINABILITY" will feature landscape architecture professor Lance Neckar, Center for Sustainable Building Research director John Carmody, and geography and urban studies professor and Golden Valley City Council member Paula Pentel. As of May 2007, the majority of the global population lives in urban areas; the panel will explore implications. Nov. 29, 12:45-1:45 p.m., Mississippi Room, Coffman Union. See the series schedule.

MORE EVENTS include American Indian Student Cultural Center open house (Nov. 14); Higher Ground, a documentary film about how people with disabilities survived Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath (Nov. 15); Enchanted: Revealing the Fantastic and Metaphysical, an international art exhibit (public reception Nov. 16, exhibit through Dec. 16); "Fantasy Matters" conference (Nov. 16); Inspecting Carol, a holiday mystery-comedy on the Minnesota Centennial Showboat (opens Nov. 16); "Gaming" on Tech Talk (Nov. 18); "Whole Systems Research: What Is It and Why Is It Important?" a lecture by U of Calgary epidemiology and sociology professor Marja Verhoef (Nov. 19); Scholarly Publishing and Open Access Webcast (Nov. 20); "Computational Biology" in Café Scientifique (Nov. 20); community Thanksgiving dinner (Nov. 22); "Design and Business: Why Can't We Be Friends?" (Nov. 26); Fill the Bus clothing drive on Coffman Union plaza (Nov. 27); Sid Hartman and Joel Rippel on Great Minnesota Sports Moments (Nov. 27); grand opening of Zoca Mexican restaurant at Carlson Dining (Nov. 28); and "What Every Physician Needs to Know About Integrative and Holistic Health Care" in the Medical School's Grand Rounds series (Nov. 28). 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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