|
Past Issues
U has won an EduCause Award for Excellence in Administrative Information Systems for its paperless financial aid system. Project is "exemplary in its leveraging of existing resources, partnerships between contributing departments, attention to developing an effective business model, alignment with the overall strategies of the university, and the value and applicability to other higher education institutions of all sizes." U was among the first in the nation to launch the system in April 2001; process has reduced expenses by $80,000 annually through reductions in temporary help, overtime, printing, and mailing.
Former prime minister of Somalia Ali Khalif Galaydh has joined Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs as a 3-year visiting professor. Starting fall 2002, he will teach politics of public affairs, strategies for economic development, and the role of nongovernmental organizations in governance.
Maroon and Gold Day at the Minnesota State Fair will be Aug. 25. Win prizes in new "Know Your U" game show and get a free bandana while they last by visiting the U of M building on Dan Patch Ave. For list of exhibits and U stage events, see www.umn.edu/statefair. Fair will run Aug. 22–Sept. 2.
Learn how to support the U by visiting the U of M Legislative Network booth in the U's state fair building. Pick up a free Goldy postcard or stop by to learn more about the coalition of volunteers who share a commitment to higher education and to the U. Or see www.umn.edu/urelate/govrel/tools.htm.
Kathleen O'Brien will be new VP for U Services effective Sept. 16, pending Board of Regents approval. O'Brien, former city coordinator for Minneapolis, will be responsible for operations of Facilities Management, Campus Health and Safety, Public Safety, Auxiliary Services, and Northrop Auditorium. Combined, these departments have about 3,000 employees and a $1 billion budget.
Al Sullivan will be new vice provost for academic programs and facilities in the Office of the Executive VP and Provost effective Oct. 1, upon conclusion of his current role as College of Natural Resources dean. He will have U-wide responsibility for academic planning and budgeting, facilities coordination, and capital planning. Newly created position will retain many of the responsibilities of associate VP Robert Kvavik, who will leave the provost's office Aug. 16 to become a senior fellow with EduCause Center for Applied Research before returning to the College of Education and Human Development.
Aspirin use may decrease the incidence of pancreatic cancer, possibly through its anti-inflammatory effects, according to researchers at U's School of Public Health. Study, published in Aug. 7 issue of Journal of the National Cancer Institute, followed the use of aspirin or aspirin-containing products and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in a group of postmenopausal woman for 7 years. "What's most encouraging is that we've seen these benefits in women who have taken aspirin 2–5 times per week," said lead author Kristin Anderson. "Based on these observations, we estimate that aspirin use might prevent 43% of pancreatic cancer cases in women who do not normally use aspirin."
New Student Financial Collections office will open Aug. 16 in 20 Fraser Hall on TC campus. Office, which will handle student loan billings for TC, UMC, and UMM, is a combination of Student Loan Collections (which will move out of 140 Williamson Hall Aug. 15) and Student Accounts Receivable. All telephone numbers in both units will remain the same.
Optional Retirement Plan investment performance results through June 30 were published on the back page of Minnesota Daily Aug. 12. Information will be sent separately to UMC, UMD, UMM, and UMR.
CROOKSTON—Twenty-eight incoming students took part in UMC's first Summer Start program Aug. 4–7. Part of the First-Year Experience Program, Summer Start introduces students to college life. Students stayed in residence halls and completed Computer Applications 1010, a one-credit introduction to a technology course required for all new students.
UMC will participate in Crookston's annual Ox Cart Days Festival. Public is invited to an ice cream social near the campus atrium Aug. 16, 3–5 p.m. Fall athletes will greet the public and walk beside UMC's parade entry Aug. 17.
Faculty and staff return to campus Aug. 19. Mimi Harris Steadman, research specialist at the National Center for Research in Vocational Education at U of California-Berkeley and coauthor of Classroom Research: Implementing the Scholarship of Teaching, will work with faculty in special sessions sponsored by Bush Faculty Development Grant. New Student Orientation will be Aug. 23; fall classes begin Aug. 27.
|
|
DULUTH—New Robert W. Bridges Fleet/Grounds Maintenance Facility will be dedicated Aug. 23, 10:30 a.m. Public is invited to attend. Bridges was UMD's first director of Plant Services and played an important role in campus growth from one building in 1951 to 43 by his retirement in 1983.
July 31 Brief reported that new pharmacy program at UMD, which will begin September, would enroll only 50 students. Enrollment figure is for the first year; program will enroll 50 students in each consecutive year for a total of 200 students by 2006.
Glensheen Historic Congdon Estate continues its summer exhibit, "The Congdon Children—Pets and Pastimes" through Labor Day. Exhibit features more than 50 items from the Congdon family collection in Glensheen's 39 rooms. Tours run 9:30 a.m.–4 p.m. daily. For more information, call 218-726-8918.
MORRIS—Forty K–12 educators participated in the Instructional Technology Institute hosted by Continuing Education, Media Services, and Computing Services Aug. 6–7. Financial support also came from UMM's New Teachers, New Technology grant.
U.S. Olympic Training Center's first residence program for women's freestyle wrestling Aug. 19 will include 6 current or former UMM students. Katie Downing, Samantha Branka, Tina George, Sara McMann, Sally Roberts, and Nina Vernon will join 12 other women to prepare for upcoming competitions including the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, where the sport will debut as a medal sport.
ROCHESTER—New student orientation program for incoming students will be initiated Aug. 14. Program, which will also run on Aug. 22, will guide students through Web registration, use of One Stop, obtaining UCards, and many other issues that will affect their experience at UMR. Program was designed with input from students through UMR Student Group and Student Satisfaction Survey conducted spring 2002.
TWIN CITIES—School of Dentistry has teamed with UCare Minnesota to turn a 37-foot Winnebago into the UCare Tooth Care mobile dental clinic. Dentistry students and faculty will provide preventive and limited restorative dental care and refer UCare patients enrolled in state public health care plans for follow-up visits. Mobile clinic will operate in Twin Cities and then expand statewide.
More than 600 educators participated in the College of Education and Human Development Summer Literacy Institute as part of a 2-year, $24.5 million federally funded effort through the Reading Excellence Act. College is partnering with Minnesota Department of Children, Families, and Learning to improve reading instruction.
Minnesota Reads, College of Education and Human Development's new collaboration to revamp teacher licensure programs, will use new 3-year, $1 million Bush Foundation grant to better train new Minnesota teachers to teach children to read.
Due to falling revenues and increased maintenance costs, Office of Information Technology, in coordination with Qwest Communications, is removing about 90 pay telephone stations in August from locations throughout TC campus. For list of affected sites, see www.umn.edu/nts/payphoneremovalproject.shtml. If you have questions or concerns, call Frank Stever at 612-624-3311 or e-mail fstever@umn.edu.
Discounted state fair admission tickets ($5) are available at U Bookstores. Regular ticket is $7. Fair runs through Sept. 2. Call 612-625-6564.
Events: U Film Society is showing a selection of Finnish films at the Bell Museum Aug. 9–15 in conjunction with 20th annual FinnFest. For film schedule, see www.ufilm.org; for FinnFest activities, see www.finnfest.com.
Lectures: Hormone Replacement Therapy forum with U experts in women's health will be Aug. 19, 6:30–9:30 p.m., Ted Mann Concert Hall. Event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required and space is limited; call 1-888-226-2376 or 612-624-2620.
o Center for Spirituality and Healing will host "The Inner Life of Healers" to help health professionals cope with the emotional, physical, and spiritual demands of their jobs. Day seminar will be Sept. 6 at Minnesota Landscape Arboretum ($125 for nurses and other health care professionals and $175 for physicians); weekend retreat will be Sept. 13–15, Osceola Retreat Center, Wis., ($495, includes food and lodging). To register or for more information, call 612-626-4772 or see www.chs.umn.edu.
Announcement: Tom Fiutak, director of Center for Conflict and Change at Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs, was among 500 volunteers in New York in July who gathered citizen input on redevelopment plans for the former World Trade Center towers site.
|
|
Return to: University Relations : U of M Home
