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1. Top Stories

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR AN ON-CAMPUS GOPHER FOOTBALL STADIUM were presented to the Governor's Stadium Commission by U officials on Jan. 6. The commission, which is charged with making recommendations regarding Twins baseball and Vikings football facilities, invited the U to present the findings of its recently completed stadium feasibility study. The study recommends a 50,000-seat, open-air, on-campus facility at a projected cost of $180 million, with another $42 million needed for site preparations and infrastructure improvements. For more information on the feasibility study, see http://www.umn.edu/stadium/

PRESIDENT BRUININKS HAS BEEN NAMED "MINNESOTAN OF THE YEAR" by Minnesota Monthly in their January 2004 issue. Bruininks was honored for his handling of "one of the U's most challenging years--and one of its most successful."

A MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR GISELA KONOPKA, who died Dec. 9 at age 93, will be held Jan. 9, 10 a.m-12 p.m., Memorial Hall, McNamara Alumni Center. Konopka, professor emerita in the Department of Social Work, was born in Berlin and was a resistance fighter during World War II. She escaped from a concentration camp and arrived in the United States in 1941. She was professor of social work at the U from 1947 to 1978 and wrote the highly acclaimed The Adolescent Girl in Conflict. The U's Konopka Institute is named in her honor. For more information on the memorial, contact Linda Boche at 612-626-1980 or boche001@umn.edu

2. News and Announcements

NOMINATIONS FOR OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARDS are being sought through Feb. 13. The awards honor outstanding community service activities of faculty, staff, and members of the greater U community. Contributions and accomplishments must result in long-term and lasting changes for the public good and demonstrate an unusual commitment to the U and greater community. Any person or group may make a nomination. For more information, contact Sue Engelmann at 612-626-9186 or engel026@umn.edu or see http://www.umn.edu/civic

THE U'S HUMPHREY INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS SEEKS NOMINATIONS for the 2004 Hubert H. Humphrey Public Leadership Awards. This program honors individuals, organizations, or projects that have made demonstrated contributions to the common good through public leadership and service. Nominations must be postmarked no later than Jan. 15. For more information, see http://www.hhh.umn.edu/news/headlines/2003/dec10_04hhh_awards.htm

NOMINATIONS FOR THE NEW DISTINGUISHED LEADERSHIP AWARD for international alumni and friends are being sought through Feb. 16. Information on the award, the nomination process, and the nine winners in 2003 is available at http://www.international.umn.edu/awards/leader/leader.html

NOMINATIONS FOR THE JOSIE R. JOHNSON HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE AWARD are being accepted for the 2004 award year. Deadline for submission is Feb. 13. For more information, see http://www.oma.umn.edu/jjaward.html

APPLICATIONS FOR FACULTY SEED GRANTS are now being accepted by the Juran Center, which will fund up to six proposals for research beginning next summer. Proposals will be funded up to a maximum of $10,000 each and should lead to large-grant funding from sources such as the National Science Foundation or other foundations or corporations. Research topics proposed should address issues concerning the achievement and sustainability of customer preference or process excellence in organizations, including business, health care, education, and government. Faculty interested in a seed grant must apply by Jan. 15. For more information and application guidelines, contact the Juran Center at 612-625-4554 or juran@csom.umn.edu

U COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT GAVE TEACHER AWARDS to four Minnesota educators on Jan. 5. Recipients of the new awards are Mary Bloomgren, Peter Hobart Primary Center, St. Louis Park; Lois Demers, Hopkins High School; Jeffrey Paul Miller, Saint Peter High School; and Arnold Rethemeier, Perham High School. The college created the award to annually recognize educators who, through their teaching, have exerted a profound influence on the lives of students. MORE: http://www.ur.umn.edu/unsreleases/find.php?ID=1037

EFFECTIVE JAN. 1, THE MILEAGE ALLOWANCE for personal vehicle use on approved U business increases from 36¢ to 37.5¢ per mile. The standard rate for moving expenses has also increased, from 12¢ to 14¢ per mile. For more information, contact Sarah Stulc at 612-624-7819 or stulc001@groupwise.umn.edu

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED HOW MANY STUDENTS are attending all U campuses (63,769) or been asked where the U ranks nationally in the number of Ph.D. degrees awarded (5th)? Facts & Figures is a brochure of current information about the U and can be used for a wide variety of purposes and audiences, including prospective students, business leaders, visiting scholars, and others. A free PDF version is available at http://www.umn.edu/urelate/ufacts/ To order a full-color, high-quality version of the brochure, available for $12 for 50 or $45 for 200, contact Jerrod at pubasst@umn.edu

3. Campus Events and Information

U Wide Event:
THE U LEGISLATIVE NETWORK WILL HOLD ITS ANNUAL LEGISLATIVE BRIEFING on Jan. 22, 5:30-7:30 p.m., McNamara Alumni Center, Minneapolis. Alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends are invited to join President Bruininks and UMAA president Jerry Noyce for an insider preview of the U's 2004 capital bonding request to the Minnesota State Legislature. Learn what you can do as an advocate for the U and connect with other advocates from around the state of Minnesota. To RSVP, see http://www.thedatabank.com/dpg/1634832 or call 612-625-9174 and leave your name, address, city, state, zip code, phone, and e-mail. For more information, visit http://www.supporttheU.umn.edu

Crookston:
CHARLES CASEY, DEAN AND DIRECTOR OF THE U OF M EXTENSION SERVICE, visited the UMC campus on Jan. 6 to see the newly opened Regional Extension Center in 251 Owen Hall, one of 18 extension centers located across the state.

Duluth:
UMD STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND STAFF RECENTLY SENT 48 BOXES OF SCHOOL SUPPLIES and $600 to help schools in Bosnia. Organized by Betsy Albert-Peacock, instructor in the Department of Education, the donations were made to Sgt. Kris Rosendahl, an undergraduate in the secondary education program who is currently serving with the National Guard in Bosnia. Part of his job entails working with the schools in the area, most of which have no supplies and still show the effects of war. "I am overcome with pride," he said about the donations. "Every time I am asked where I get all of my stuff, I say, 'My fellow students up at UMD care enough about the world around them to give me a hand.'"

Morris:
CARLA RILEY IS THE NEW ASSOCIATE FUND DEVELOPMENT OFFICER in the Office of External Relations, a position funded by the U of M Foundation. Riley earned a bachelor's degree from UMM in English and German and a master's degree in English from The University of St. Thomas. She worked for several years for Campaign Consultants of America, a capital campaign consulting firm for nonprofit organizations.

DO YOU HAVE FOND MEMORIES OF THE WEST CENTRAL SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE? Would you share them as part of a program to develop a preservation plan for the former WCSA campus? UMM was recently awarded $180,000 from the Getty Grant Program to develop a written preservation plan for the WCSA and Experiment Station Historic District. As part of the process, photos of the campus are being borrowed from people who lived and worked there. For more information, contact Sue Dieter at 320-589-4394, extension 1818.

Twin Cities:
BEGINNING SPRING SEMESTER, THE 60-FOOT-LONG BUSES on the campus shuttle service will serve the normal Campus Connector service instead of the limited stop service. Parking and Transportation Services will continue to offer limited stop service as in the past, but with shorter buses. All riders are reminded to double-check the bus they are boarding by reading the marquee panel.

THE PHYSICS FORCE, THAT MADCAP GANG OF PHYSICISTS, will present a free Physics Circus for all ages on Jan. 15, 7 p.m., Northrop Auditorium. Watch as they drop a physicist 20 feet, collapse a 55-gallon drum, and send a roll of toilet paper skyward, all to illustrate basic principles of physics. The Physics Force comprises U of M physics professor Dan Dahlberg and area physics teachers.

LIVE SATELLITE BROADCASTS FROM THIS YEAR'S JASON EXPEDITION in Panama will be downlinked to the Bell Museum auditorium. The JASON Project is a multidisciplinary program that explores planet earth and exposes students to leading scientists. Broadcasts are open to school groups and the general public and will be aired Monday-Friday, Jan. 26-Feb. 6, at 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and noon. It will also air during Biodiversity Family Day on Saturday, Jan. 31. For more information, call 612-624-9050 or see http://www.bellmuseum.org

SEE MORE TWIN CITIES EVENTS ONLINE at http://events.tc.umn.edu

Brief is compiled by University Relations at the University of Minnesota. Please send comments, questions, or submissions to Jason Sanford, editor, at sanfo012@umn.edu All Twin Cities event submissions are handled through the events calendar at http://events.tc.umn.edu

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