Briefs

UIHC ranks among the best

University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics ranks overall as one of “America’s Best Hospitals,” with 10 of the hospital’s specialties listed among the nation’s top 50 in an annual survey published by U.S. News & World Report.

Three specialties rank among the nation’s top 10: otolaryngology–ear, nose, and throat (3), ophthalmology and visual sciences–eyes (6), and orthopaedic surgery–bones and joints (8).

Other ranked specialties at UIHC include psychiatry (14), urology (21), respiratory disorders (25), hormonal disorders (29), cancer (36), rheumatology (48), and gynecology (50).

Donna Katen-Bahensky, UIHC director and chief executive officer, says the rankings offer yet another confirmation of the organization’s commitment to overall excellence.

“This honor is truly deserved,” Katen-Bahensky says. “Our faculty and staff provide world-class health care, and we are very proud of all of them.”

The 2003 rankings represent the 14th time in the 14 years that U.S. News & World Report has published the “America’s Best Hospitals” survey that UIHC has been honored by the magazine.

Skorton to serve as leader in alcohol and drug prevention

UI president David Skorton has been selected to serve on the Presidents Leadership Group, a body of higher education presidents and chancellors who have made student substance-abuse prevention a priority on their campuses. The group is part of the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention.

“I am pleased to express The University of Iowa’s continuing commitment to curb the harmful effects of abusive drinking on college campuses,” Skorton says. “We at the University will continue to act as a catalyst in our community to effect positive change to address this serious public health problem.”

Representing a broad array of institutions of higher education, officials from 45 campuses in 27 states now participate in this effort. Officials serve as prevention spokespersons, change agents, and models for other presidents. They also support statewide and regional alcohol and other drug prevention efforts, adopting leadership roles in existing regional initiatives or taking the lead in states where statewide efforts have not yet taken hold.

Sign up for fitness programs

The University is providing health promotion services administered through UI Wellness and UI Benefits at a 75 percent reduced fee.

The programming targets stress management, weight management, and smoking cessation. Services are open to all faculty and P&S and merit supervisory exempt staff employed at 50 percent time or greater who participate in the University’s flexible benefit program.

To sign up, visit the UI Wellness web site at www.uiowa.edu/hr/wellness and fill out an application. Availability is on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, call Joni Troester at (33)5-2692.

2003 Saturday Scholars series to kick off Sept. 6

Some of the top scholars in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will be teaching homework- and tuition-free seminars this fall. The sessions are part of the college’s annual Saturday Scholars program.

All presentations are free and open to the public. They will begin at 10 a.m. in 40 SH. Each session will last about an hour.

This year’s program includes:

Sept. 6—“Only Natural: The Horn of Mozart and Beethoven,” Kristin Thelander, professor and chair, School of Music

Sept. 20—“Oh Baby: Fertility Decline in the Richest Nations on Earth,” Jennifer Glass, professor of sociology and behavioral and community health

Oct. 4—“Media, Culture, and the Sexy Girl,” Meenakshi Gigi Durham, associate professor of journalism and mass communication

Oct. 18—“Tandem Stories: Traveling Iceland By-cycle,” Steve Thunder-McGuire, associate professor of art and art history and curriculum and instruction

Nov. 1—“Herbal Products: They’re Organic but Are They Safe?” David Wiemer, professor and chair of chemistry

Nov. 15—“Maps and Their Makers: Decidedly Deliberate Deceptions and Distortions,” Marc Armstrong, professor and chair of geography

Ida Beam scholars to visit

The new slate of Ida Cordelia Beam Distinguished Visiting Professors has been determined. Visiting professors are nominated by departments and programs. Recipients are chosen on a competitive basis by the provost’s office.

Lawrence Barsalou, Emory University, psychology

Frans B.M. de Waal, Emory University, Project on Rhetoric of Inquiry

John D’Emilio, University of Illinois-Chicago, sexuality studies

Mary Dudziak, University of Southern California, James C. Hall, University of Alabama, Kimberley Phillips, College of William & Mary, George Lipsitz, University of California-San Diego, David Wilkins, University of Minnesota; American studies, history, and American Indian native studies

Henry Friedlander, City University of New York, history

David M. Hillis, University of Texas-Austin, geoscience

C. Stephen Jaeger, University of Illnois-Urbana-Champaign, medieval studies

Margaret Levi, University of Washington-Seattle, political science

Peter Matthiessen, writer, International Writing Program

Cherr’e Moraga, Stanford University, Project on Rhetoric of Inquiry

Steven Pinker, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, linguistics and law

Frederic M. Raphael, artist and writer, classics and theatre arts

Sherry Simon, Concordia University, Montreal, cinema and comparative literature

B.L. Turner II, Clark University, geography

Marc Van Montagu, Universiteit Gent, Vakgroep Moleculaire Genetica, biological sciences

Kenny Wheeler, jazz composer, The Banff Centre, music

Ida Cordelia Beam, a native of Vinton, willed her farm to the University in 1977. With the proceeds from the sale of the farm, the University established a fund to bring scholars in a variety of disciplines to the University for lectures and discussions during residencies ranging from several days to a month, and more rarely, a semester.