|
Past Issues
U will offer new retirement-incentive option and implement changes to civil service layoff and academic staff nonrenewal severance programs. The Retirement Incentive Option (RIO) is a new, one-time opportunity for voluntary retirement for qualified employees not covered by collective bargaining agreements. RIO will provide 36 months of continuing health care subsidy—paid for by the U—to employees who are eligible for retirement under the U's existing formulas. Interested employees must apply for the RIO between April 15 and July 7, 2003, and voluntarily retire at a date mutually acceptable to the employee and his or her unit (but no later than June 2004). Availability of the RIO for represented employees will depend upon the outcome of negotiations with collective bargaining units.
"As the University faces difficult budget decisions, we hope to minimize involuntary workforce reductions. The RIO potentially will be attractive to some faculty and staff and thus provide additional flexibility in our units," VP Carrier said.
Due to the current budget situation, concurrent with the RIO will be modifications to the Civil Service Staff Layoff Severance Program and the Academic Staff Non-Renewal Severance Program. (The modifications will not affect represented employees unless they agree to the changes pursuant to collective bargaining.) First, the "Rule of 75" provision will be eliminated effective April 30, 2003. Second, beginning May 1, 2003, laid-off and nonrenewed individuals who are issued a lump-sum severance will agree to not be reemployed at the U for a time period corresponding to their severance weeks payout. Complete information about the RIO and these changes will be available at www.umn.edu/ohr/eb beginning April 10, or call Jackie Singer at 612-626-0792.
Regents will meet April 10–11, 600 McNamara Alumni Center. President Bruininks will review the status of budget planning with the regents, but no budget decisions are expected. For full agenda, see www.umn.edu/regents.
Budget instructions, giving initial directions for FY04 budgeting, will be sent to units this week, according to Julie Tonneson, Office of Budget and Finance.
House Republicans and Senate Democrats announced their budget balancing plans over the last week. The House plan would add $50 million to the higher education budget (that is, it lowers the governor's reductions by $50 million) while the Senate plan would add $150 million to the higher ed budget. It is unclear how these plans would affect U funding, especially since the money—if passed—would be divided among the U, MnSCU, and financial aid.
Electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) system will be implemented on the Twin Cities campus in June, with all other campuses to follow in the upcoming year. The QuikPAY system will enable students, parents, and other authorized users to receive and pay tuition bills and invoices on the Internet. For more information, contact Julie Selander at 612-625-6579 or goode021@umn.edu.
Effective this spring, final grades for all courses must be entered via the Web (except for IDL and directed studies courses). For access to the system, frequently asked questions, tutorials (for entering grades and uploading grade files), and the uniform grading and transcript policy, see the following Web sites for each campus. Crookston: www.crk.umn.edu/people
/services/registrar/GradeReporting.htm; Duluth: www.d.umn.edu/faculty/grading; Morris: www.mrs.umn.edu/onestop/grading; Twin Cities: onestop.umn.edu/registrar/Grades/gradereporting.
Sixteen U faculty will be inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Teachers, April 21, 3:30–6 p.m. in the McNamara Alumni Center's Memorial Hall. To attend the free ceremony and reception, register online at www.alumni.umn.edu/distinguishedteaching or call Deanna Hamilton at 612-625-9180.
U.S. News and World Report ranked the Carlson School of Management's part-time M.B.A. program as one of the top ten business specialty programs in the nation. In addition, the Carlson School's full-time M.B.A. program ranked 26th in this year's rankings. Schools were evaluated based on their perceived quality, their success in terms of graduate placement and salaries, and student undergraduate GPA and GMAT scores.
Eight grants in Excellence in Multicultural Education fellowship program are available. Fellows will work with other instructors who teach undergraduate courses, prepare graduate or professional students for working within diverse communities, and work with the training and development of multicultural educators. Application deadline is April 29. Information at teachlrn@umn.edu or www.teaching.umn.edu.
Annette Boman, assistant professor at the UMD School of Medicine, died March 25, four months after doctors diagnosed bone marrow cancer. Born in Minneapolis and raised in Duluth, she was 36 and the mother of two young children. UMD School of Medicine has created a cancer-research endowment in Boman's name.
Design of Medical Devices Conference, sponsored by Biomedical Engineering Institute, will be April 24–25, Radisson Hotel Metrodome, Minneapolis. Special registration rates are available for U faculty and full-time students. For more information, go to www.me.umn.edu/dmd.
|
|
CROOKSTON—Annual International Dinner is April 12. Cost is $10 per person. Dinner begins 6 p.m. in Sahlstrom Conference Center's Brown dining room; program starts at 7 p.m. in Kiehle auditorium. International students planned the menu to include traditional ethnic foods, and traditional entertainment representing various world cultures will be presented.
Ken Myers, associate professor of hotel, restaurant, and institutional management, has been elected secretary-treasurer of the Midwest Association of Hospitality Educators, a chapter of the International Council of Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Educators.
DULUTH—Graphic Design Program will premiere its first annual senior design student exhibition in Minneapolis April 11–May 2 at Oslund and Associates, 115 Washington Avenue. Opening reception will be April 11, 5:30–7:30 p.m. Public is welcome.
Urban Studies Program presents Duluth Chamber of Commerce president David Ross speaking on "Building Our Community," April 16, noon, 323 Kirby Student Center.
MORRIS—Minnesota Supreme Court judges and local judges will hold an informal community dinner April 15, 6:30 p.m., Oyate Hall. The "Meet Your Court" dinner kicks off the Supreme Court's spring visit to the Eighth Judicial District.
Vicente Cabrera Funes, Morris professor of Spanish, will read in English from his latest novel, La Sombra del Espía, April 12, 7:30 p.m., Ruminator Books in St. Paul.
ROCHESTER—Barbara Ehrenreich, author of the book Nickel and Dimed: On How to (Not) Get by in America will speak on April 8, 7 p.m., and April 9, 10 a.m., in the Rockenbach Gym. The free lectures are part of the UCR Visiting Scholars Series.
TWIN CITIES—Nominations are being accepted for the 2003 College of Continuing Education Distinguished Teaching Awards. Deadline is May 1. Call 612-625-0238 or e-mail pundem@cce.umn.edu for materials.
Center for Interdisciplinary Studies of Writing (CISW) Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Writing for 2002–03 has been awarded to Jim Perry of the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology in the College of Natural Resources. The CISW Ph.D. Summer Research Fellowship has been awarded to Robert Strong of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies in the College of Liberal Arts. The winners will be recognized at a ceremony on April 25.
University Libraries and the Bio-Medical Library have asked selected faculty and students to participate in a Web-based survey assessing library service quality and satisfaction. For more information, contact Frank Elliott at 612-625-3814 or ellio022@umn.edu.
The GLBT Programs Office is conducting a comprehensive assessment to identify how well the office meets the needs of students, staff, faculty, and alumni, as well as ways to improve service. People can participate through an online survey at www.umn.edu/glbt or by attending a community forum. A complete list of the forums is available on the Web site.
Events: Art Department's 34th annual Iron Pour will be April 11, noon–4 p.m. in the art building's foundry annex. Event is free and open to the public. For more information, see artdept.umn.edu/ironpour.
Peter Sussman, coauthor of the original Society of Professional Journalists' code of ethics, will speak on "A New Kind of Warfare Demands a New Kind of Journalism: Rethinking Journalists' Wartime Ethics," April 14, 6:30 p.m., Mississippi Room, Coffman Union.
Blood drive will be held April 15, 10 a.m.–4 p.m., Great Hall, Coffman Union. All blood types are welcome, but type "0" blood donors are especially needed. To schedule a donatation, call Dave Hansen at 612-247-0222 or e-mail hans1484@umn.edu.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 host Mike Nelson debuts his first novel Death Rat April 16, 2 p.m., U Bookstore, Coffman Union.
Annual P&A staff recognition event, sponsored by Council of Academic Professionals and Administrators, will be April 16, 3–5 p.m., Weisman Museum, TC campus. Event is open to all P&A staff. For more information, contact Kelly Culhane at 612-624-4033 or e-mail kculhane@cce.umn.edu.
CURA Housing Forum: "Affordable Housing Programs for Discrete Populations: Considering the Many Rivers Project for Native Americans," April 18, noon–1:30 p.m., 147 Carlson School. More info at www.cura.umn.edu. RSVP to 612-625-1551.
Robert Caro will talk about Hubert Humphrey's life and legacy on May 5, noon, Humphrey Center atrium. Call 612-625-5002 (correction) or go to www.hhh.umn.edu/news/carlson.
|
|
Return to: University Relations : U of M Home
