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Vol. XXIX No. 1January 6, 1999
http://www.umn.edu/urelate/brief/1999-01-06.html
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Editor: Maureen Smith (612) 624-2801

Sesquicentennial planning was the topic when Regents Professor Ellen Berscheid met with the Faculty Consultative Committee (FCC) Dec. 17. Berscheid and vice provost Robert Jones are cochairs of the sesquicentennial committee. "We are in the process of planning, and we do need help. We particularly need help from faculty," Berscheid said. Events will be from late August 2000 through late May 2001. Committee wants suggestions about "events that you think the faculty would enjoy or want." To offer ideas, go to Web site at http://www.umn.edu/sesqui/.

One important goal of the sesquicentennial will be to have fun, Berscheid said; President Yudof warned against a series of lectures. Fred Morrison suggested that departments set up historical displays featuring "significant people who have taught here and significant discoveries that have been made here." Sara Evans said similar information could be made available on departmental Web pages, linked to the sesquicentennial page.

Stanford Lehmberg, professor emeritus of history, and Ann Pflaum, associate dean of U College, are writing a sequel volume to James Gray's centennial history of the U, based in part on interviews conducted by history professor emeritus Clarke Chambers. Book will be published in time for the sesquicentennial in 2000-01.

V. Rama Murthy gave a progress report on a joint AAUP-FCC project to form small focus groups for tenure-track faculty. Each group would be small, with maybe 2 senior faculty and 4 tenure-track faculty from different departments, and the topics would include concerns of tenure-track faculty and advice from senior faculty. "We want to make it very personal" and "introduce the communal aspect of our life here very early on," Murthy said. First group might meet in middle or late winter quarter. Concerns that emerge would be brought to the FCC. Judith Martin suggested that the program be coordinated with the Bush Faculty Development Program.

Norma Allewell, vice provost for research and graduate/professional education and professor of biochemistry, has been named associate VP for sponsored programs and technology licensing at Harvard U, starting in early January. "Norma has made outstanding contributions [to the U] in research, teaching, and University-wide leadership," Provost Bruininks said. "She has played a key leadership role in the successful innovations taking place under the biological sciences reorganization, and her contributions to this process will be missed."

Use of plus-minus grades in 1997-98 was reviewed by Senate Committee on Educational Policy in December. For 1xxx, 3xxx, and 5xxx courses enrolling 10 or more students, proportion of sections using plus-minus grades by campus was 74.3% TC, 81.4% UMD, 72.4% UMM, 28.6% UMC. 1997-98 was first year for widespread use of plus-minus grades on all campuses except Duluth. There was little difference in overall GPA. For 1xxx, 3xxx, and 5xxx courses, GPAs by campus for 1997-98 (compared to 1996-97) are: UMC 2.706 (2.636); UMD 2.836 (2.855); UMM 3.009 (3.171); TC 3.094 (3.132). Change at Morris may reflect the reinstitution of F grade and associated decline in use of N grade. More information available at http://www.irr.umn.edu/graderep/.

Nomination deadline for the John Tate Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising is March 12. Up to 4 faculty and professional advisers will be selected for the $1,500 awards. Information will be sent to deans and department chairs, or call Karen Linquist (612) 624-9817 for information and nomination forms. Nomination guidelines may also be found at the following Web site: http://www.umn.edu/ohr/awards/.

Top long-term goal of the Civil Service Committee for 1998-99 is to "improve employee benefits for all civil service employees (retirement, tuition, health, and flexible benefits)." To that end a Benefits Subcommittee chaired by Gavin Watt (gdw@tc.umn.edu) and Tom Stark (starkt@fm.facm.umn.edu) is being formed. Second general meeting will be Jan. 8, 1-2 p.m., in 2 Magrath Library (formerly St. Paul Central Library).

Office for University Women, formerly the Commission on Women, invites proposals from faculty, staff, and students on all 4 campuses for projects that further the goal of improving the campus climate for women. For more information or an application packet call (612) 625-2385 x 3.

Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) will be offered on the TC campus starting in February; next closest site is Madison. The TOEIC is used around the globe as a measure of English proficiency in real-life situations. More than 7 million people in 2,000 companies, universities, and other organizations use this test each year. Upcoming test dates are Feb. 25, May 20, and Aug. 5. Call the Minnesota English Center at (612) 624-1503.

CROOKSTON--Ardis Thompson, executive secretary in development, received the Outstanding Employee of the Quarter Award from the United Staff Association.

DULUTH--Linda Kinnear began Nov. 30 as coordinator of UMD development data management and research. She was previously education coordinator for the Miller-Dwan Foundation in Duluth.

Honors: Michael Lalich, director of Natural Resources Research Institute, received a Distinguished Service Award from the U of Wisconsin-Madison's College of Engineering.Diane Dorland, professor and head of the Department of Chemical Engineering, has been elected one of 4 directors of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

MORRIS--About 50 students attended Morris city council meetings this fall to voice concerns about Morris rental housing. As a result, a 7-member ad hoc committee will prepare a housing inspection form by February. A 2nd committee, to be named by Morris mayor Carol Wilcox, will serve as mediators between renters and landlords.

A campuswide food drive effort, coordinated by Campus Compact intern Kelly Klosterman, Maple Grove, collected 720 pounds of food for the Stevens County Food Shelf.

TWIN CITIES--Gift of $1 million from Cornelia Ooms Beck will establish the Robert Holmes Beck Chair of Ideas in Education. Chair, in memory of former Regents Professor Robert Beck, is the first in the country dedicated to scholarly study of the concepts underlying critical issues in education.

Legislative briefing to bring U supporters together at the start of the 1999 legislative session to become effective advocates will be Jan. 13, 5:30 p.m., at the Humphrey Center. President Yudof and other U leaders will describe the 1999 request and how you can help. For information call Les Heen at (612) 626-0913.

Grants: U.S. Agency for International Development has given $4.9 million to fund a 3-year Humphrey Institute Center for Nations in Transition project to strengthen management education in Ukraine. Project is intended to produce a new generation of public and private sector managers capable of working through the economic transition and whose efforts will eventually lead to a more sustainable economic environment, said Zbigniew Bochniarz, Center for Nations in Transition director.National Institutes of Health awarded $5 million to launch the Drug Addiction Research Center in Molecular and Cellular Biology. Center brings together researchers who study drug-induced changes in single nerve cells to better understand how addiction to such drugs as marijuana, nicotine, caffeine, and opiates occurs. "If we can understand how addiction works on the cellular or molecular level, we can understand the nature of addiction," said Horace Loh, center director and head of the pharmacology department.

Field ornithologist David Parmelee died Dec. 16 of cancer. He was a faculty member in ecology, evolution, and behavior and director of the Lake Itasca Forestry and Biological Station from 1970 until 1986, then was a professor and curator of birds at the Bell Museum of Natural History until his retirement from the U in 1992.

Announcements: Nominations for newly established University Outstanding Community Service Award are due Jan. 29. Award recognizes faculty, staff, or community members who have made enduring contributions to the community and to improving public life and the well-being of society. Approximately 5 awards will be given this year for the TC campus. Awards given to faculty or staff will carry a recurring salary augmentation of $1,500 annually. For more information, contact Linda Blake at (612) 626-7730.Office of Human Resources will begin holding information sessions on the job application process for anyone interested in applying for civil service/represented bargaining unit positions at the U. They will be be held every other Wednesday beginning Jan. 6, 5:15-6:15 p.m. in 170 Donhowe Building. Sign-up to attend is not required. For more information on these sessions, call 625-2000 to speak to a representative.Tandem Language Partner Program matches students studying English as a 2nd language at the U with Americans for a conversation exchange. Especially needed are people interested in meeting a student from an Asian country. Contact Andrea Poulos at 626-9581 or e-mail poulo002@tc.umn.edu. Application deadline for winter quarter is Jan. 13, and there is a mandatory orientation Jan. 20 at 5 p.m.

Events: Memories of the Holocaust, Armenian genocide, Native American genocide, and genocide in the former Yugoslavia and Africa are explored in the exhibit "Absence/Presence: The Artistic Memory of the Holocaust and Contemporary Genocide," at the Katherine Nash Gallery Jan. 7-Feb. 25. Opening reception is scheduled for 6-8:30 p.m. Jan. 7 at the gallery. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. M-W and F, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Th, and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sa. Gallery is located on the lower concourse of Willey Hall."Governor Ventura: Minnesota's Gubernatorial Election and Its Implications for THE BODY Politic," Humphrey Institute Policy Forum public seminar, Jan.14, noon-5:30 p.m., Humphrey Center, $25, (612) 625-8330.