Vol. XXXVII No. 37; Nov. 28, 2007
Editor: Gayla Marty, brief@umn.edu

Read Brief on the Web at http://www.umn.edu/umnnews/Publications/Brief/Brief_11282007.html.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE
--Text messaging became part of the U's emergency notification system Nov. 16.
--International graduate student enrollment has rebounded since 2001 due to strategic efforts.
--UMTC will decommission its modem pool Dec. 31; UMart offers Internet service provider discounts for U employees.
--People: New associate VP for system academic administration is Irma McClaurin; Mohamed Benaissa of Morocco will be awarded an honorary doctorate Dec. 4; and more.

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

TXT-U BECAME PART OF THE U'S EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEM Nov. 16, when it debuted at UMTC. The new system for students, faculty, and staff with cell phones and other wireless handheld devices will be used only in case of real emergencies or school closings. TXT-U will also be implemented at UMC, UMM, and UMR; UMD has its own system. Text messaging joins outdoor sirens, fire alarms, broadcast voice mail and e-mail, pagers, and department radios among the U's methods to reach everyone quickly. There is no charge to sign up, though cell phone carriers may charge to receive text messages. Those who sign up by Dec. 15 may win an iPod touch. Read more in "1 new message."

GRADUATE STUDENT ENROLLMENT FROM ASIA HAS INCREASED at UMTC, with gains of 3 percent from China, 34 percent from India, and 86 percent from Turkey. Gains from several nations were well ahead of the national rate and correlate with strategic efforts that grew from work of a committee formed in 2004 to create a plan for UMTC international recruitment. Despite intense competition for international talent, UMTC is now regaining enrollment that fell sharply in 2001. Recovery is reported at UMD, as well. Read more in the media advisory.

UMTC WILL DECOMMISSION ITS MODEM POOL for employees, students, and alumni to access the Internet from home. About 3,000 remaining pool users must transfer to third-party Internet service providers (ISPs) by Dec. 31. The Office of Information Technology identified ISPs with a record of good service, availability, and reasonable cost and negotiated U discounts, available through UMart. Read more about the process and options in "Everybody out of the pool!"

PEOPLE: New associate VP for system academic administration and executive director of the U's first Urban Research and Outreach/Engagement Center is Irma McClaurin; alumnus Mohamed Benaissa, '63, former Moroccan ambassador to the United States, will be awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree and will speak at UMTC Dec. 4; and more. Read about these and more awards and appointments in People.

CAMPUS ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS

University-wide:

OPEN ENROLLMENT FOR EMPLOYEE BENEFITS ENDS NOV. 30. Employees satisfied with their medical and dental plans do not need to re-enroll, but enrollment is required to start or continue a health care or dependent day care flexible spending account; start or increase the level of long-term disability insurance, if eligible; or get up to $25,000 of additional employee life insurance. See open enrollment.

AN ADDITIONAL HOLIDAY FOR ACADEMIC PERSONNEL AT UMR AND UMTC (faculty, P&A, graduate assistants, and professionals in training) has been approved to achieve equity with the 11 days available to academic employees at UMC, UMD, and UMM. This personal holiday must be taken between Dec. 21 and Jan. 19; specific available dates could change in future years. See personal holiday.

NEXT U SENATE MEETINGS ARE NOV. 29. The U Senate and Faculty Senate will meet 2:30-5 p.m.; locations are 308 Selvig Hall, UMC; Garden Room, UMD; 3500 Science Building, UMM; and 25 Mondale Hall, UMTC. The Student Senate will meet 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. See the schedule details.

A CEREMONY TO HONOR NOBEL PRIZEWINNER Leonid Hurwicz, Regents Professor Emeritus of Economics, with special guest Jonas Hafström, Swedish ambassador to the United States, will take place simultaneously with the award ceremony in Stockholm. Dec. 10, 9:30 a.m., Tedd Mann Concert Hall, UMTC. Admission is free but tickets are required; request a ticket by Nov. 30 by contacting Erik at farse003@umn.edu or 612-624-8480. To request disability accommodations, call 612-625-0051. Post a note of congratulation to Professor Hurwicz in the guestbook.

TEACHING AND ADVISING AWARDS NOMINATION INFORMATION SESSIONS for those involved in compiling dossiers for the Morse-Alumni, graduate/professional, and Tate advising awards will address dossier format, tips for compiling a strong dossier, and more. Staff from the Office of the Senior VP and Provost will be available to answer questions about the process. UMTC: Dec. 3, 2-3 p.m., 101 Walter Library. Sessions for UMC, UMD, and UMM will be offered by interactive TV: Dec. 5, 2-3 p.m.; campus locations will be 106 Sahlstrom Center, UMC; 173 Kirby Plaza, UMD; and 7 HFA, UMM. Register by Nov. 30. Contact Robin Matross Helms at rmhelms@umn.edu or 612-626-5598.

INFORMATION SESSION ON THE 2008 SUCCESSFUL MANAGERS LEADERSHIP PROGRAM will be Dec. 11, 9:30-10:30 a.m, 215 Donhowe Building, UMTC. The program's four-and-a-half-day spring session, designed to increase leadership capabilities at the U, is scheduled to begin Feb. 26. See more information, including program dates and costs and a brochure in PDF format.

APPLICATIONS FOR EQUITY AND DIVERSITY "IDEA GRANTS" are invited by the Office for Equity and Diversity. The program funds projects, programming, events, and research that support historically underrepresented students, faculty, staff, and communities. All academic and administrative units across the U's campuses are eligible to apply; grants are awarded quarterly. Next deadline for applications is Dec. 31. See more information and the application.

THE ACADEMIC HEALTH CENTER AND JAPAN'S KEIO U SCHOOL OF MEDICINE will establish a clinical research education e-program with a grant from Medtronic Foundation. The program will allow U researchers to share clinical research expertise with Japan. See the news release.

FLEET SERVICES AUCTION: U Fleet Services' regular auction of extra vehicles is online this year. The auction began this month and continues through February; vehicles will be added as they become available. See a list of vehicles available to buy at Fleet Services auction.

SAVE THE DATE: The third annual Minnesota conference on sustainable tourism, "Stepping up to Sustainability," will be April 15 at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC). More information will be posted soon by the U Tourism Center.

Crookston:

THE MINNESOTA BOARD OF TEACHING site-visit evaluation team will recommend that UMC be granted institutional licensure, with conditions, for offering teacher education programs, as reported Nov. 14 in preliminary findings. The written report is expected in 30 days, and final recommendations will go before the board for consideration in late January or early February, when the licensure would become official. All initial approvals include requirements for follow-up reports and on-site visits.

WOMEN'S HOLIDAY SOCIAL AND OPEN HOUSE will include a silent auction of holiday baskets created by departments to raise funds for the Women's Project Fund and raise awareness of women's scholarships at UMC. Dec. 4, 4-6 p.m., Bede Ballroom.

Duluth:

UMD ATHLETICS HOSTED THE 2008 NCAA Division II North Central Region women's volleyball tournament Nov. 15-17. Concordia U-St. Paul captured the regional championship with a 3-1 win over the Bulldogs and advanced to the Elite Eight tournament. See the results.

DINNER WITH FRIENDS, a Pulitzer prizewinning, "sober, wise, and extremely funny" drama about marriage crisis, will be presented by the Department of Theatre. Nov. 29-Dec. 2 and Dec. 4-8, 7:30 p.m. (2 p.m. Sundays), Dudley Experimental Theatre, Marshall Performing Arts Center. Tickets $15 adults, $11 students and seniors, $6 children and UMD students. See more information.

Morris:

NEW CHANCELLOR FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS AND DEAN is Cheryl Contant, pending approval by the regents Dec. 14. Contant is professor and director of the city and regional planning program in the Georgia Institute of Technology's College of Architecture. She served as an American Council of Education Fellow at Macalester College in 2006-07. She was selected following a national search and will assume responsibilities next summer. See the news release.

THE MARKET RESEARCH PHASE OF A BRANDING INITIATIVE FOR UMM has been completed by the national marketing firm Lipman Hearne. The firm conducted on-campus focus groups, student and parent focus groups, and donor and alumni surveys this fall and will present their findings Nov. 27-28. The research will be used to enhance UMM's communications efforts. For more information, contact director of communications Christine Mahoney, mahoneyc@morris.umn.edu or 320-589-6398.

Rochester:

GOV. PAWLENTY VISITED UMR NOV. 19 to see the new facilities and talk about his vision for higher education in Rochester and southeastern Minnesota. He thanked the Rochester Higher Education Development Council (RHEDC) for their efforts and enthusiasm for the unique opportunities the new campus brings.

Twin Cities:

METRO TRANSIT'S 2007 COMMUTER CHOICE AWARD was given to UMTC in recognition of creative commuting solutions, both operational and marketing, after the I-35W bridge collapse. See the news release.

COPYRIGHT PERMISSION REQUESTS FOR SPRING 2008 course materials should be submitted to the Copyright Permissions Center as soon as possible. Source information may be dropped off at any Printing Services location, faxed to 612-626-9810, mailed to 102 Printing Services Building, or submitted online. For more information, contact Dale Mossestad at mosse006@umn.edu or 612-626-9416.

LEARNINGLIFE, a learning community to help more than a million Minnesotans about to retire and other citizen-learners who want to connect, have fun, and learn in good company, has been established by the College of Continuing Education. It will debut at LearningLife Fest, Dec. 1, 8:45 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Continuing Education and Conference Center. See the news release and register.

THE NEXT HEADLINERS FORUM will feature economics professor and Federal Reserve Bank economic adviser Varadarajan V. Chari on "Game Theory in an Economic Maelstrom." Chari, a colleague of 2007 Nobel prizewinner Leonid Hurwicz, will talk about the significance of Hurwicz's groundbreaking theory and the current volatile state of the economy. Dec. 6, 7 p.m., Continuing Education and Conference Center. See more information.

PULITZER PRIZEWINNER Paul Muldoon, Princeton U professor and new poetry editor of The New Yorker, will speak on "The Eternity of the Poem" in the next Esther Freier Endowed Lecture. The Irish-born Muldoon has published 10 major collections of poetry and is a guitarist and lyricist for the band Rackett. Nov. 28, 7:30 p.m., theater, Coffman Union. Sponsored by the Department of English, 612-625-3363.

NOBEL LAUREATE James Heckman, U of Chicago professor of economics, will speak on "Schools, Skills, and Synapses" in the next George Seltzer Distinguished Memorial Lecture. Heckman's research proves a greater return on investment for dollars spent on early childhood programs compared with remediation later in life. Dec. 6, 3:30 p.m., 3M Auditorium, Carlson School of Management. Register by Nov. 30 by contacting carlsonevents@umn.edu or 612-626-9633.

THE U POLICE DEPARTMENT IS A DROP SITE FOR TOYS FOR TOTS. Bring unwrapped toys to the lobby of the Transportation and Safety Building, 511 Washington Ave. S.E. The last day to drop off toys is Dec. 19, 3 p.m. See gift suggestions.

MORE EVENTS include "What Every Physician Needs to Know About Integrative and Holistic Health Care" in the Medical School's Grand Rounds series (Nov. 28); "Sustainable Cities: A Conversation on Sustainability" (Nov. 29); "Bio-deregulation: Bodies, Jeans, and Justice," by Rice U professor of English Rosemary Hennessy (Nov. 29); "The Birth of the Human Rights Movement," by history professor Jay Winter (Nov. 30); U Marching Band Indoor Concert (Dec. 1-2); "Early Findings From the Flexible Work and Well-being Study" (Dec. 3); "Slow Art" (Dec. 3); Grand Casinos cofounder Lyle Berman at the Carlson School's First Tuesday luncheon (Dec. 4); Engaged Scholarship: A Guide for Organizational and Social Research author and U management professor Andrew Van de Ven (Dec. 4); School of Nursing Foundation benefit jewelry sale (Dec. 5); and "Aesthetics or Utility? Art Engaging the Environment," a public lecture by Department of Art visiting scholar Lesley Stokes Sims (Dec. 5). 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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