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But Washington Avenue was never lowered and the two bridges have stood for 60 years, becoming an icon for generations of University students. Finally, deterioration on the "temporary" bridges became serious. Coupled with clearance problems for vehicles on Washington as well as accessibility concerns, the decision was made to close the bridges and look for a permanent solution. A University team is studying how to create that permanent crossing while improving the integrity of Northrop Mall, re-creating some of the bridges iconic appearance, and accommodating the many more people expected to use the crossing in the coming decade. The Riverbend Commons area beyond Coffman is under construction and will feature housing, more parking, and direct paths to the Mississippi River flats area.

Mattison, now 91, held his engineering license from 1936 until about five years ago. "Every time I drove by there I remembered those bridges because they were one of my first contracts," he says. "About 1980 I started to realize that they were becoming landmarks."

According to Mattison, those landmarks might still be in use if he had had his way. In building the bridges, he worked with one of his instructors, Joe Weiss, on the design. "I understand the rust is getting pretty bad where the structural steel joins the concrete piers," he says. "I told Joe that someday there would be corrosion there, but he said, Oh, they're only going to be up 10 or 15 years. "

Originally, University planners had hoped to have a permanent crossing in place for next fall's scheduled reopening of the renovated Coffman Union. That won't be the case, however, because of conflicts with Coffman reconstruction, reconfiguring parts of the mall, and, ironically, the fact that lowering the Washington Avenue roadbed is still being discussed.

Among those remembered was Tom Burnett Jr. (B.S. '86), a passenger on United Airlines flight 93. The California-bound flight was hijacked the morning of September 11 and then crashed in a field in rural Pennsylvania, killing everyone aboard. A graduate of the Carlson School of Management and member of Alpha Kappa Psi fraternity, Burnett is believed to have been among a handful of passengers who prevented the hijackers from reaching their intended target, likely a national landmark in Washington, D.C. Burnett, 38, and a few other passengers were able to place phone calls to people on the ground and convey their plan to jump the hijackers, even if that put their own lives at risk.

In honor of Burnett, the University established a scholarship in his name in late September. The Thomas E. Burnett Jr. Memorial Fund will benefit University students and promote the type of character and leadership exemplified by Burnett.

"The University of Minnesota is proud to call Tom Burnett Jr. one of its own," Yudof said. "This fund is a fitting memorial to a man who cared deeply about his fellow human beings and who, by his actions, has earned the nation s everlasting gratitude. History will rightly number him among the heroes who had greatness thrust upon them."

A native of Minneapolis, Burnett lived with his wife and three daughters in San Ramon, California, where he was senior vice president of Thoratec Corporation, a medical research and development company.

To make a gift to the Thomas E. Burnett Jr. Memorial Fund, call the University of Minnesota Foundation at 612-624-3333 or 800-775-2187 or visit the University of Minnesota Foundation.

Faculty Research
A look at recent University of Minnesota studies, research, discoveries, and rankings

Wetlands Can't Live on Water Alone
For 15 years, federal policy has encouraged farmers to set aside acreage for restoring wetlands historically used as waterfowl breeding grounds. Unfortunately, just adding water to low-lying areas does little to restore the basins to their original condition, according to research at the University of Minnesota. Waterfowl depend on the plant diversity in undisturbed wetlands to create the proper ecosystem and provide food and shelter. In looking at newly created wetlands, researchers found that plants moved in readily but that perennial weeds tended to choke out more sensitive species or prevent them from getting started at all. This may be due in part to nitrogen residue or runoff from agricultural fertilizers. In addition, small, isolated basins make it hard for seeds to travel in from other wetlands and establish new plant colonies. Hand-planting wetlands with diverse native species, however, could cost 10 to 100 times more than simply restoring the water does. The team is now looking for ways to more efficiently create that diversity. The researchers presented their work August 7 at the Ecological Society of America's annual meeting.

Lionesses Pride
Female lions appear to be among the most cooperative and egalitarian mammals on earth, according to a 36-year study by University of Minnesota professor Craig Packer. After tracking about 560 lions in the Serengeti Desert and the Ngorongoro Crater, both in Tanzania, Packer and his team concluded that, by virtually any measure, groups of lionesses do not have dominant members. First, lionesses are unusual simply by living in prides. All other breeds of cat live more or less solitary existences. Lionesses cooperate in hunting and in caring for and defending cubs and, most significantly, take a noncompetitive approach to mating. In other groups of predators, one female will be singled out for reproductive success and may even kill offspring of other females. Among many other animals and social insects (like bees and ants), dominant females also hoard reproductive opportunities and are attended by subordinates. The July 27 issue of Science reported the study.

Growing, but Slowing
Human population growth appears to be slowing and could even level off in the next century, according to "ecological equations" calculated by a University of Minnesota ecologist. Those equations look at animal populations and the factors that cause them to increase and decrease. Clarence Lehman, associate director of the University's Cedar Creek Natural History Area, told the annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America on August 6 that for hundreds of years the population growth rate accelerated unchecked due to advances of modern society. Now, however, population growth has hit a period of "negative feedback" caused by density, easy spread of disease, and some voluntary controls. Recent demographic studies confirm that population growth rates have begun to decline. Lehman still calculates that the population will grow for the next century, reaching about 10 billion to 12 billion by 2100, but then could begin to decline.

Attacking Muscular Dystrophy
In a discovery that will immediately improve diagnosis and could lead to better treatments, University of Minnesota scientists have found a gene that causes the most common type of muscular dystrophy in adults. Myotonic dystrophy Type 2 affects about 30,000 Americans, attacking the heart, eyes, and other body systems. Researchers with the U's Institute of Human Genetics isolated the gene, in part, by studying a family affected by the disease and looking for shared genetic mutations. Follow-up tests confirmed that the gene was the one responsible for the disease. Earlier research had uncovered a genetic abnormality for another type of muscular dystrophy on a different gene. Since both genes appear to create the same change in RNA (the molecule that carries out the DNA s instructions), scientists have important new information on how to target new treatments for the disease. The researchers have already created a genetic test for the abnormality that leads to muscular dystrophy. The findings are also the first strong evidence that RNA itself can cause disease. The August 3 issue of Science reported the discovery.

State of the U: "A Great Deal of Momentum"
Delivering an upbeat State of the University address October 18, President Mark Yudof told the University community and other interested observers that the numbers show good things under way. "We're enjoying a great deal of momentum today," said Yudof. "The fact is that nearly all meaningful indicators of University performance are up."

In addition to the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, being named the nation's third-best public research university in a University of Florida study, Yudof cited the following figures:

- Applications for admission have risen 60 percent since 1995.

- Average ACT scores and class ranks continue to rise for freshmen.

- The average undergraduate credit load is 13.3, up from 12.9 in fall 1999, the first term on the semester system, indicating a growing desire to graduate in four or five years.

- Four- and five-year graduation rates continue to improve, but remain "totally unsatisfactory," Yudof said. In 1990, the four-year rate was below 10 percent in Duluth and the Twin Cities and both are now over 25 percent. Morris's rates have risen from 28 percent to about 44 percent in the same span. Crookston has only recently shifted to more four-year degree programs.

- Seventy percent of freshmen on the Twin Cities campus live in residence halls, up from 45 percent in 1986. The percentage of students commuting from a parent's home is barely a third of what it was in 1971: 14 percent compared with 40 percent.

- Student satisfaction has been high and rising on all four campuses, although the Twin Cities campus took a slight dip in 2001 when both Coffman Union and Walter Library closed for renovations, and new software for registration and financial aid was sometimes problematic.

- Research awards have more than doubled, in inflation-adjusted dollars, in the last 15 years.

- Private giving has risen nearly fourfold, from $36 million in 1986 to $131 million in 2001.

Yudof specifically pointed to remaining challenges, especially the "long-term, national trend" away from state support of public higher education and the need for increased tuition revenues this creates.

Yudof called on University faculty and supporters to spread the news. "I think it is the duty of the faculty and the greater University community to help the public's perception catch up with today's University," he said.

Click here to read the full speech.

A Case for Smaller Schools
When the Center for School Change at the University's Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs received a $3 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on October 29, it was a chance for the center to put its own research into practice.

This fall, the center produced "Smaller, Safer, Saner Successful Schools," a federally funded report summarizing school-size research and analyzing 22 case studies. Among the 22 were new schools, large schools that were renovated into several smaller schools, and schools that share facilities with community groups or other organizations to save costs and provide different learning opportunities.

The report concludes:

- Small schools are safer and have higher graduation rates and fewer discipline problems.

- Schools that share facilities with other organizations offer broader learning opportunities, better services, and a way to use public money efficiently.

- While small schools may cost more to operate per pupil, the higher graduation rates mean a lower cost per graduate.

The U.S. Education Department's Smaller Learning Communities Program finds that the best size for secondary schools is in the range of 400 to 800 students, smaller for elementary schools.

The Center for School Change is also administering an earlier $8 million grant from the same foundation. Combined, the two grants will:

- create five new high schools (either charter or district-run) of 500 students or less in the St. Paul area,

- help strengthen existing St. Paul area charter high schools,

- assist or help create charter schools throughout Minnesota, and

- improve cooperation between school districts and charter schools, which are public, independently operated schools.

Overheard on Campus
"I knew Mark before he was intimidating." Judy Yudof, explaining why she felt comfortable bantering with her husband, University President Mark Yudof, on their new monthly radio show, "Beyond the U," airing from 1 to 2 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month on WCCO radio

Overheard on Campus
"It's up to us to exert a permanent patriotism, not just a patriotism when we're under attack. . . . Permanent patriotism means we must have the freedom of our minds to comment, reflect, and feed back because our government can make some serious mistakes, as they have in the past." Ralph Nader during a September 25 speech at Northrop Auditorium

Overheard on Campus
"The evidence seems to suggest that when students keep their credit loads up, they have much better luck graduating on schedule." University Vice President and Provost Bob Bruininks on the rationale behind a memo proposing that, to bolster graduation rates, students on the Twin Cities campus be required to maintain credit loads of at least 13 per semester

Campaign Update
According to the University of Minnesota Foundation, 7,154 faculty and staff have given $49 million to Campaign Minnesota through September 30. The University-wide effort to raise $1.3 billion by July 2003 to ensure the U's preeminence in the 21st century has raised a total of $1.19 billion.

What Gifts Can Do
Because of gifts for endowment and ongoing support of the University since the beginning of Campaign Minnesota:

- 42,000 square feet have been added to the Mechanical Engineering building

- 469 new scholarship funds and 190 new fellowship funds are helping every college attract top students

- 79 new endowed chairs have been created

- 26 endowed faculty positions have been established in medicine and public health

- 3 times as many undergraduate students in the College of Biological Sciences now receive Alumni Merit Scholarships

Gifts of All Sizes
To reach its goal of $1.3 billion, Campaign Minnesota will rely not only on major gifts, but on gifts of any size from all alumni. More than 172,000 donors have made gifts to Campaign Minnesota; 168,939 were for less than $25,000.