| U of M Alumni Association | U of M Twin Cities |
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1/23/2003
After four months, after hiring a search firm to recruit and sort through applicants, after interviewing candidates from a pool of 120 names, University of Minnesota regents ended up right where they began. On November 9 they named Robert Bruininks, who had been interim president since July, as the 15th president of the University of Minnesota. Bruininks, 60, served five years as executive vice president and provost under popular ex-president Mark Yudof, was dean of the College of Education and Human Development, and had been a faculty member focusing on special education issues. "I’ve worked here for 35 years, fully 23 percent of the University’s history, I might add," he quipped later. "I’ve tried to retire a couple of times now, but it doesn’t seem to be working." Bruininks was named the sole finalist on November 8, then went through a whirlwind series of campus meetings with faculty, staff, alumni, students, and others. Everywhere, the reaction was overwhelmingly positive. The nomination literally brought a standing ovation from the University’s main faculty governance committee. Off campus, the news was greeted with enthusiasm by legislators, business people, and others. Regents, too, were unanimous. "We would not have uniform and unqualified comfort in this recommendation, in this finalist, had we not gone through the process," said Regents Chair Maureen Reed (B.A. ’75, M.D. ’78). "We needed to see who is out there. Now we know, and we feel very comfortable with this." Though he has already taken office, Bruininks will be inaugurated February 28, the culmination of the U’s Founders’ Week celebration. Watch for a profile of Bruininks in the March-April issue of Minnesota. Installing the New President Inauguration Day: Friday, February 28, 2003 Inauguration: 12:45 p.m. in Northrop Auditorium Public Reception: 3 p.m. in Coffman Memorial Union’s Great Hall For more information, visit the U's inauguration Web site. What People Are Saying "It was a great victory for the home team. He’s been up and down the food chain at the University, but he never forgets who he is and where he came from." —Professor Mary Jo Kane, director of the Tucker Center for the Study of Girls and Women in Sports, quoted in the Star Tribune "I’m very pleased for the University. He has the leadership qualities to bring people along with him and to articulate a vision for the institution. He conveys that very well, both to the University community and to the state as a whole." —Peggy Leppik, former state representative and chair of the House Higher Education Division "We have a leader who understands this institution, understands the state of Minnesota, connects with people, and is just dripping with integrity and ethics." —Regent David Metzen (B.A. ’64, Ed.D., ’73) " Behind his Minnesota demeanor is an extremely smart, principled person who has no difficulty making tough decisions. He has enormous integrity—what he says is what he does." —Regents Professor of History Allan Isaacman, quoted in the Star Tribune "It’s a good thing for the University to have someone as dedicated to the U as he is. I’ve been particularly impressed with how the budget request has been set up this year. [The proposed 4.5 percent tuition increase] is a step in the right direction to show us that he is looking out for students." —Minnesota Student Association President Joshua Colburn, a senior in the Institute of Technology Maroon and Gold, Naturally Jim Brandenburg, the internationally acclaimed photographer who studied studio arts at the University’s Duluth campus, has again donated an image for the University’s "Even Mother Nature Loves Maroon and Gold" poster campaign. Last year, Brandenburg donated a photo of a delicate lady’s slipper,
Both images illustrate Brandenburg’s passion for using his photography to show the beauty in the details of the natural world and to raise awareness of the environment. His images have appeared in many publications and he has produced nine books. His most famous volume may be 1998’s Chased by the Light, which resulted from his taking a single image each day for 90 days. Those photos also appeared in National Geographic. For more on Brandenburg’s work, visit www.jimbrandenburg.com. To pick up a copy of the poster, visit 3 Morrill Hall. To order the poster call 612-624-6868 or read the direction online. Credit Card Debt and Stress University of Minnesota students have less credit card debt compared with the national average, according to Ed Ehlinger, director of Boynton Health Services. He reported to the Regents Faculty, Staff, and Student Affairs Committee December 12 that 51 percent of first-year and 61.7 percent of second-year University students have at least one credit card, compared with the national average of 54 percent and 92 percent, respectively. "Of our 18- to 24-year-old students with credit cards, 7.7 percent had a balance greater than $3,000," he said. According to a Boynton Student Health Survey, excessive credit-card debt is a problem for students. In 2001, 5.5 percent of first-year, 20.1 percent of fourth-year, and 24.1 percent of fifth-year students agreed with the statement that "a credit card is a significant stressor on my life." Unlimited-Ride Bus Pass Is the Ticket Although more and more students are living on campus, the Twin Cities campus still has a large number of students who live beyond walking distance. Reducing the volume of cars arriving on campus has long been a goal of U planners, and it looks like they’ve finally found something that works. The U Pass, an unlimited-ride bus pass, was introduced in fall of 2000. Since then, bus ridership among students has more than doubled, from approximately 7,000 a day to more than 14,000. U officials estimate that two million fewer car trips to campus are made a year because of the increase in bus travel, eliminating about 110 tons of carbon monoxide emissions. The U Pass costs $50 and is valid from the beginning of one semester until the start of the next term, usually between 15 and 18 weeks. Regular rush-hour fare is now $1.75 each way, or $262.50 for 15 weeks of weekday round trips. The U Pass is subsidized by a federal Congestion Mitigation Air Quality grant received by Parking and Transportation Services and is available to all registered, fee-paying students. Celebrating 100 Years of Music For a century, the University of Minnesota campus has been graced with some of the finest music and musicians in the Upper Midwest. The School of Music is celebrating its 100th anniversary this school year with a series of events that began in September with a gala dinner and dance and ends May 4 with a free choral concert. In between the school has scheduled several free public events, including a Martin Luther King, Jr., memorial concert set for February 2. Music instruction began at the University in 1867 with once-weekly voice classes, and in 1897 a 29-member Cadet Marching Band was formed. But it wasn’t until the fall of 1902 that a formal music department was created, under the direction of Emil Oberhoffer, who was at the same time forming the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, now the Minnesota Orchestra. For the next 100 years that prestigious beginning was carried on through famed faculty like Dominick Argento, Reginald Buckner, Vern Sutton, Lydia Artymiw, and many Minnesota Orchestra members. Those they have taught include contemporary composers Libby Larsen (B.A. ’72, M.A. ’75, Ph.D. ’78) and Stephen
To mark the centennial, the school has produced Sounding, a book chronicling its history and featuring interviews with some 25 notable alumni. Copies are available for $15 at every public event at Ted Mann Concert Hall. School of Music Centennial Events "From Every Voice," the 22nd Annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Concert, features 250 performers in a "collage" format of nonstop dance, music, and drama that utilizes the stage, balconies, aisles, and orchestra pit as performance space. Featured performers include vocalist Jevetta Steele, musician Sanford Moore, author Alexs Pate, and actor Lou Bellamy. February 2 at 4 p.m. at Ted Mann Concert Hall, 2128 Fourth Street South, West Bank campus. Admission is free. U of M Choral Union Concert features more than 200 singers marking the official end of the School of Music’s centennial year. May 4 at 4 p.m. at Ted Mann Concert Hall, 2128 Fourth Street South, West Bank campus. Admission is free. Web Hit: Info U The sheer volume of knowledge at the University can seem overwhelming to someone looking for simple answers. But have no fear: The Info U Web site presents easy-to-use, practical answers to questions about daily life. Supporting the University of Minnesota Extension Service’s mission of using University resources to improve the lives of Minnesotans, Info U has 10 subsections answering common, but important, questions about families, finances, gardens, food, homes, the environment, and more. More than 500 briefs cover topics like mad cow disease, canning, disciplining children, consumer credit scams, and how to choose the right pet, while a yard and garden subsection contains hundreds more briefs. The site is easy to navigate and includes a search function that returns multiple results. The items are based on research and expertise from the University and elsewhere, but are written in plain and understandable language and reviewed by experts for their accuracy. Some also contain links to further resources. Thirty-nine of the briefs have been translated into Spanish, as well. This comprehensive site should be a first stop for anyone seeking practical, easy-to-use information about daily topics. Monarch Butterfly Numbers Drop If you thought you saw fewer monarch butterflies heading south this fall, you were right, according to University of Minnesota research. By studying 82 sites in 19 states, volunteers discovered that 12 percent of milkweed plants had monarch larva this summer, compared with a six-year average of 17 percent. The Monarch Larva Monitoring Project, run by Karen Oberhauser, a University of Minnesota ecology professor, is important because of the sensitivity monarchs have to environmental changes. Although earlier studies raised concern about the effects of pesticides and genetically modified crops on monarchs, this year’s smaller numbers were attributed to strong storms and a late freeze in Mexico, where monarchs winter, and to weather in Minnesota that reduced the number of milkweed plants. Clicke here for more on the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project. Overheard on Campus "Go for the stars, reach for the stars. You’ll never reach the stars, but if you stretch yourself enough, you can get some stardust on your hands." —Norman Borlaug (B.S. ’37, M.S. ’41, Ph.D. ’42), 1970 Nobel Peace Prize winner, at a St. Paul campus reception in November Overheard on Campus "There is hardly anything more ludicrous than the fax machine, but it is still around." —Andrew Odlyzko, director of the University’s Digital Technology Center, quoted in a StarTribune article about why the growth of broadband Internet service is slow | |||||||||||||||||||
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