| U of M Alumni Association | U of M Twin Cities |
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11/10/2003
The Scholars' Walk, a "sacred space" to honor the intellectual heart of the University of Minnesota, was approved by the Board of Regents on September 12. The walk, extending from the McNamara Alumni Center 2,200 feet west across Northrop Mall to Appleby Hall, will be built and maintained with private funds. Local firm Hamel, Green and Abrahamson, Inc., completed the design for the walk, which will begin next to the alumni center with a grove of bur oaks and monuments honoring the University alumni and faculty who have earned Nobel prizes—15 to date. National academy members, Rhodes Scholars, honorary degree holders, Distinguished Teaching Award recipients, and others selected by a faculty committee will be honored along the walk. A 14-foot-wide walkway will be bordered by trees, shrubs, granite pavers, benches, and limestone monuments on swaths up to 15 feet wide. The monuments will feature names etched in glass along with famous quotations and will be lighted at night. The walk is scheduled to be completed by fall 2004. "The Scholars' Walk is destined to be sacred space," says Larry Laukka (B.A. '58), volunteer head of the Gateway Corporation—an entity composed of the alumni association, the University of Minnesota Foundation, and the Minnesota Medical Foundation. "The greatness of the University is captured in the quality of its faculty, students, and alumni. We will now have a tangible way to capture that." The cost to build the walk is estimated at $2.5 million, with an endowment for ongoing maintenance. Gerry Fischer, president of the University of Minnesota Foundation, says having a tangible way to recognize scholars also is appealing to those who might be willing to fund the project. "I don't anticipate this will be a hard sell," he says. Regent chair David Metzen is equally enthusiastic. "I just love the message this sends to the University. This is what we're all about," he says. "I just wish it were starting tomorrow." Bruininks States His Academic Priorities "In a time of fiscal austerity," President Bob Bruininks said in his October 2 State of the University address, "I've been heartened by the creativity and the sense of shared sacrifice among our students, staff, and faculty." Speaking in the Coffman Memorial Union Theater, Bruininks outlined the fiscal pain the University has endured, but emphasized the great strides the U has made by sticking to its core values of excellence in education, research, and outreach; cultural and academic diversity; and a sense of community, on campus and with the public. The main thrust of Bruininks' speech, however, was to outline his eight academic priorities for the coming years: • Biosciences and biotechnology; • Environment and renewable energy; • Healthy foods, healthy lives; • Brain development and vitality over the life span; • Children, youth, and families; • Arts and humanities; • Translational research in human health (turning basic medical research into actual treatments); and • Law and values in health, environment, and the life sciences (addressing legal and moral questions raised by new technology and discoveries). Many of the priorities, Bruininks said, "will require significant deepening of state and private sector commitments in order to make Minnesota a true leader. . . . If Minnesota is to compete in these capital and technology-intensive areas that the governor, legislators, and private sector leaders have expressed interest in, we cannot get there by cutting the University's budget. "We are up to the challenge, and it is our people who will continue to build on the many successes we have experienced—in the recent past and over a 150-year history. In short, we will be working hard to plan for this brighter future." The full text of the 2003 State of the University speech can be found here. Giving Away Free Time Rising tuition and a sluggish economy haven't dampened University students' desire to give back to the community. Each year, more than 2,500 students find volunteer opportunities through the U's Career and Community Learning Center (CCLC). "Students are balancing more and more work hours, [but] volunteerism among students continues to increase, even as other measures of civic engagement, like voting, are down," says Kristin Dawson, CCLC's service learning coordinator. "We're seeing big growth in service-learning courses, classes that combine academics with some work in the community." One of the primary ways of finding out about volunteer opportunities is the annual Community Involvement Fair, held in mid-September at Coffman Union. "Recruiting U students is natural for us, because a lot of students face the kinds of issues we work on," says Chris Dolan, a graduate student working for Housing Minnesota, involved with affordable housing issues. Representatives of the 75 community nonprofit organizations at the fair try to match students with the right volunteer openings. "We want to make sure students get to do things that interest them and that they can learn from," Dolan says. Casey Litchke, a College of Biological Sciences freshman said he came to the fair to see what kinds of opportunities were available. "I did a lot of volunteering in high school," he said after talking with a volunteer coordinator for Kaleidoscope, an after-school program in Minneapolis's Phillips neighborhood. "I liked getting involved and doing something. Plus, it might help me figure out what I want to do after graduation." Day 42 An image from photographer Jim Brandenburg's latest book, Looking for Summer, gives further evidence that even Mother Nature loves maroon and gold. Sunset Over Moose Lake, shot on the 42nd day of Brandenburg's photographic diary (in which he made one exposure a day from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox), is featured on posters and notecards and available to the public. Click here for more. Is Your Job Weighing You Down? In addition to obligating workers
With rising obesity rates and the strong link between diet and several chronic diseases, the School of Public Health has published Guidelines for Offering Healthy Foods at Meetings, Seminars, and Catered Events. Tips include: • Offer healthful food at breakfasts, lunches, and receptions, including fruits, vegetables, whole-grain baked goods with low-fat spreads, juices, water, and tea. • Consider not offering food at mid-morning or mid-afternoon meetings, and providing only healthful beverages, such as 100 percent fruit juices, water, or tea instead. The report includes suggested menu options and a calorie and fat comparison of popular food and beverage items. Discoveries Topical Tea and Skin Cancer A tea-based cream may help halt the process that leads to skin cancer, according to early results of University of Minnesota research. Dr. Zigang Dong, director of the U's Hormel Institute, a research unit of the Graduate School, in Austin, found that mice exposed to ultraviolet B light and swabbed with a cancer-causing substance had much lower rates of skin cancer if treated with a tea-based cream afterwards. Human skin cultures showed similar results in lab tests. The key ingredients in both green and black tea are polyphenols, chemicals that have been shown in other studies to be powerful antioxidants. Applied after sun exposure, the polyphenols react with skin cells and disrupt the enzyme that turns normal cells cancerous. Earlier research at Rutgers University found that caffeine, also found in tea, might help halt the skin cancer process as well. Tea's anti-cancer effects are greatest if applied directly to exposed skin via the cream, rather than by drinking tea. He cautioned, however, that the most effective way to prevent skin cancer presently known is to limit sun exposure and to use UVB blocking sunscreens. Dong presented his findings in September at a meeting of the American Chemical Society. Teased to Death Adolescents teased about their weight appear to contemplate and attempt suicide two to three times more often than their peers, according to a University of Minnesota study. Teens teased by classmates, family members or both had a higher incidence of several emotional health problems, whether or not they were objectively overweight by traditional measures. Among the findings: The teased teens had relatively low self-esteem, low body satisfaction, and high depressive symptoms in addition to higher rates of contemplating or attempting suicide. A survey of 4,746 students in grades 7 through 12 in the Twin Cities area found that 30 percent of girls and 25 percent of boys reported being teased by peers, while 29 percent of girls and 16 percent of boys were teased by family members. About 15 percent of girls and 10 percent of boys were teased by both groups. The findings were published in the August issue of The Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. Bad Teeth, Bad Heart According to a University of Minnesota study, the link between tooth loss and a buildup of plaque in carotid arteries—those that carry blood to the brain—is the latest evidence of a link between gum disease and cardiovascular events like heart attacks and stroke. Researchers studied 711 New Yorkers with an average age of 66 and no history of heart disease or stroke. Participants underwent dental, physical, and neurological exams, as well as an ultrasound to detect plaque buildup in arteries in the neck. About 40 percent of participants with nine or fewer missing teeth had carotid plaque, while 60 percent of those with 10 or more missing teeth had plaque buildup. While more missing teeth also correlated to other cardiovascular risk factors, such as smoking, poor diet, and lack of exercise, the relationship remained even after accounting for other risk and cultural factors. The study was published in the August 1 issue of Stroke, a journal of the American Heart Association. Evaluating Drugs and Dosages Pharmaceutical care clinics—where trained pharmacists collaborate with physicians to explain or adjust patient medications and dosages—help improve drug effectiveness, reduce drug-related illnesses, and save money, according to a study by University and Fairview Health Services researchers. A review panel of 12 doctors and pharmacists looked at 2,524 patients at six Fairview collaborative care clinics in the Twin Cities who were taking an average of 8.2 medications and experiencing an average of 2.3 drug-related problems. At the start of the study, about 74 percent of drug therapies were having the desired effect, but that number increased to 89 percent after patient visits to the clinics. The review panel agreed with 94.2 percent of pharmaceutical evaluations done at the clinic, and disagreed with only 2.2 percent. The results were published in the August 11 Archives of Internal Medicine. Overheard on Campus "If we're successful in preventing a disease from occurring, we will be criticized for wasting taxpayer dollars on something that never occurred. On the other hand, if a disease occurred, we would be criticized for not acting quickly enough." —Will Hueston, professor of veterinary medicine and director of the University's Center for Animal Health and Food Safety on the dilemma facing government officials and others who want to test healthy appearing livestock for mad cow disease and other ailments. "Clearly, it was a joke—though ill-advised and ill-timed." —KDWB radio station manager Dan Seeman about on-air statements made by morning show host Dave Ryan the day before the Gopher-Michigan football game, including that people could win T-shirts if they rioted after the game. | |||||||||||||||||
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