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| Alumni Association Home > Past Issues > 2008 > November-December 2008 | ||||||||
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| About Campus 11/5/2008
Just as the new Interstate-35W bridge near campus was opening, a portion of the Washington Avenue Bridge—the main artery between the East and West Banks of the Minneapolis campus—was closing. Inspectors found that the upper deck, which serves pedestrian and bike traffic, is seriously compromised and abruptly closed all but a portion of the covered walkway that stretches down the middle of the span. Mayhem ensued as bicyclists and walkers careened around the 14-foot-wide corridor trying to avoid crashing into one another. As a safety measure, campus police ordered bicyclists to walk their bikes across the bridge. Many did, but others did not, and after several hair-raising near-misses between them and walkers, police started fining recalcitrant bicyclists a hefty $80. Compliance soared, and order was restored. The good news: The lower deck, which carries motorized traffic, is structurally sound. The bad news: Access to the pedestrian deck will continue to be restricted until at least April 2009 so that repairs can be completed. Stressed Out and Sleep Deprived
Almost a Molecule Molecules are a big deal at the University of Minnesota, especially on the East Bank of the Minneapolis campus. This fall, the U installed a new sculpture—a 30-foot-high, 10,000-pound pseudo-molecule made of multicolored “atoms” arranged in an arch over the walkway leading to the Molecular and Cellular Biology Building. Minneapolis artist Amy Toscani says passers-by, especially students, want to know what the molecule literally represents (an amino acid or d-xylose, perhaps?) and are disappointed when she tells them that it’s more art than science. “It’s art that references science,” she explains. Toscani is known for her humorous and playful creations, works that teeter on ridiculous but are not one-liners, she says. Still, when asked to propose a work for the plaza along Washington Avenue, she studied up. “I got this book Molecular and Cellular Biology for Dummies, and I read it frantically because I thought they were going to want this rigorous scientific sculpture,” she says. “But after reading that book, I realized I’m never going to be an expert, that I am indeed a dummy and so I just have to make art.” Toscani grew up in the 1960s, and the abstract shapes and old map colors she is drawn to recall that decade. For this commission, she set out to humanize science. “Scientific sculpture is so geometric and heavy. Part of my work is about being homemade,” she says. “There’s evidence of the hand and my little welds, and everything is sort of imperfect. To me there is a real humanness in science that we miss, and that has real implications.” Toscani is also working on a smaller sculpture that employs digital screens projecting scientific as well as some unexpected images was installed inside the Molecular and Cellular Biology Building in late October. Toscani has not yet given a title to her pseudo-molecule sculpture, although she says one professor suggested the name Almost, since what she created is almost a real molecule. She invites University of Minnesota alumni and students to propose a name for her sculpture. Send suggestions to fling003@umn.edu. If Toscani chooses a submission, we’ll announce it in a future issue of Minnesota. The University has more than 30 works of public art on the Minneapolis and St. Paul campuses funded by Percent for Art in Public Places, a state law requiring that building projects receiving state funds use 1 percent of the money on public art. For a map and guide to the public art on campus, go to http://www.weisman.umn.edu/public/public.html . —Shelly Fling A New Recruiting Tool How can the University of Minnesota attract top faculty from around the United States? Easy: by assisting recruits’ spouses and partners to find employment in Minnesota too. Dual-career conflicts are commonplace in higher education, since employment and advancement often require relocating. “Particularly in some regions, it’s absolutely critical for both members of the couple to have a job,” says Mary Everley, director of the Relocation Assistance Program at the University. “So to get them to commit, they need to know that there are professional opportunities in the region for the other person.” Everley is also director of the Upper Midwest Higher Education Recruitment Consortium, a new partnership led by the U of M to help colleges and universities overcome the challenges of recruiting and retaining faculty and staff. A central component of the consortium is a job search engine—www.uppermidwestherc.org—that facilitates dual-career job searches and offers information about major employers in the region. At its launch in mid-October, the consotrium included 55 colleges and universities in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin with several other schools in the five-state area in the wings. The consortium is expected to help the U in its diversity recruiting as well. “For example, for faculty in the U.S., 80 percent are white and about 5.5 percent are black,” Everley says. “But you look at the race and ethnic distribution of HERC Web site users and you see that only 59 are percent white; you have 16 percent black, 13 percent Asian, and 11 percent Hispanic.” The Upper Midwest HERC is promoting itself through higher education publications and Web sites nationwide and is one of 11 regional HERCs, the first forming in northern California in 2000. While member institutions might occasionally find themselves competing for the same recruit, “we see the competition as the other regions across the country,” says Everley, who also wants to use alumni networks to recruit top faculty to the region. |
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