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News in Brief
AROUND CAMPUSFaculty and staff honored with 2008 Audrey Qualls Diversity Awards Two directors in the University of Iowa College of Education who have committed their work to supporting diversity were awarded the 2008 Audrey Qualls Commitment to Diversity Awards. Rebecca Anthony, director of the Educational Placement Office in the UI College of Education and a facilitator in the Women in Science and Engineering Program, was the staff recipient, and Dennis C. Harper, director of the Realizing Educational and Career Hopes (REACH) Program, was the faculty recipient. The Audrey Qualls Commitment to Diversity Award is a student-nominated award given annually to a faculty and a staff member in the College of Education. The award recognizes their demonstrated commitment to diversity. The award was named in honor of the late Audrey Qualls, who was a professor of measurement and statistics in the UI College of Education Department of Psychological and Quantitative Foundations from 1990 until her death in 2002. Nominations are solicited each spring. Read the full University News Services release at http://news-releases.uiowa.edu/2008/may/050108qualls_award.html.
International Programs awards summer research fellowships to UI faculty Three University of Iowa faculty members will conduct research this summer with funding from the UI International Programs Summer Research Fellowship. The awards are a developmental program for faculty that grants a $3,000 summer salary to each recipient in order to support approved international research projects. The projects are expected to result in at least one publication, exhibit, or performance. Fellowship winners are:
International Studies honors three UI professors for mentoring work
Eight UI faculty awarded Global and Faculty Scholarships Seven University of Iowa faculty members have been selected by the UI Office of the Provost to receive Faculty Scholar Awards and one to receive a Global Scholar Award. Jeffrey Cox, professor of history in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, was awarded the Global Scholar award. Recipients of the award are released from half their usual year of teaching, advising, administrative, and service obligations for two consecutive academic years. Faculty Scholar Award winners for 2008 are Denise Filios, associate professor of Spanish and Portuguese; Gregory Friestad, associate professor of chemistry; Loren Glass, associate professor of English; Michael Gobat, associate professor of history; Shaun Vecera, professor of psychology; Kembrew McLeod, associate professor of communication studies; and Jon Winet, associate professor of art and art history. All are faculty members in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Faculty Scholar Awards give leading scholars the opportunity for creative, extended, and concentrated work on their research. Recipients are released from half of the usual obligations of teaching, advising, and service for three consecutive academic years. Typically, the award takes the form of a Career Development Award for one semester of each of three years. Read the full University News Services release at http://news-releases.uiowa.edu/2008/may/050608faculty_awards.html.
Nominate administrator, staff member for undergraduate student advocacy award The Office of the Provost is seeking nominations for the Lola Lopes Award for Undergraduate Student Advocacy. This award honors a University of Iowa administrator or staff member who supports undergraduate education and serves as a strong, effective advocate for undergraduate students and the undergraduate experience. The recipient will receive a $1,000 honorarium and a certificate, and his or her name will be added to a plaque displayed prominently in the Admission Visitors Center. All UI administrators, staff members, and faculty members in a nonteaching role are eligible. All faculty, staff, and students are welcome to make nominations, which should be directed to the vice provost, and should include a narrative and two letters of support. The narrative letter should briefly describe the efforts, achievements, and distinction that make the nominee an especially effective advocate for undergraduate students, and address the following questions:
Nomination forms and criteria are available at www.provost.uiowa.edu/students/lopesaward.htm. Nominations are due May 30. Contact Vice Provost Thomas Rocklin at thomas-rocklin@uiowa.edu with any questions.
See what Learning and Development courses are right for you UI Learning and Development, a unit of Organizational Effectiveness, provides professional development services to faculty and staff. There are many learning opportunities that will support your professional development and growth. Look for classroom instruction on leadership issues for managers, frontline supervisors, human resource professionals, and office professionals. Check out the following links:
DISCOVERIESMental and addictive disorders high among offenders entering state prisons A University of Iowa study on men and women entering Iowa's prison system found that more than 90 percent met the criteria for a current or lifetime mental health condition or an addictive disorder, and 30 percent of the offenders were rated as being at risk for suicide. UI researchers interviewed 320 randomly selected, nonviolent offenders (264 men and 56 women) newly committed to the reception and evaluation center of the Iowa Medical and Classification Center (IMCC) located in Oakdale. The average age of the study participants was 31, and over 70 percent of the offenders were Caucasian. "Because there has been terrific concern about mental health issues among prisoners, we thought that we ought to collect high-quality data to confirm the extent of the problem. This data is essential for planning purposes in the correctional system," said Donald Black, professor in the UI Department of Psychiatry and one of the study authors. "We now know just how common these conditions are, and the figures suggest that we ought to be concerned." Read the full University News Services Release at http://news-releases.uiowa.edu/2008/april/043008prisons.html.
Researcher finds good management, stock buy-backs deter takeover attempts The best way for companies to avoid becoming takeover targets is to engage in regular stock buy-backs on the open market, according to research by Matt Billett, professor of finance in the Tippie College of Business. Billett recently studied more than 23,000 U.S. companies to determine whether open market share repurchases deter takeovers. What he and his coauthor found was evidence that, for the first time, verified the conventional wisdom that, indeed, they do. Billett said his research shows a well-managed firm will repurchase its stock when management senses a high takeover probability. He cites the example of Sears, which in 1989 bought back huge amounts of its own stock—even selling its iconic Chicago skyscraper to raise more cash—to ward off rumored takeover attempts. In the end, no attempt was made. Read the full University News Services release at http://news-releases.uiowa.edu/2008/may/050508buy_backs.html.
Turning on cell-cell communication wipes out staph biofilms University of Iowa researchers have succeeded in wiping out established biofilms of Staphylococcus aureus (staph) by hijacking one of the bacteria's own regulatory systems. Although the discovery is not ready for clinical application, the findings offer insight into a dispersal mechanism for staph biofilms and might help identify therapeutic targets. Biofilms are communities of bacteria that grow on moist surfaces, including heart valves, bone and medical implants. Encased in self-produced slime and highly resistant to antibiotic therapy and the body's own immune defenses, biofilm infections represent a tough and dangerous medical problem. The findings were published in the journal Public Library of Science - Pathogens (PLoS-Pathogens) on April 25. "We have shown that activating the cells' communication system, also known as quorum sensing, in established biofilms causes the biofilms to disperse rapidly," said Alexander Horswill, UI assistant professor of microbiology and senior study author. "This is the first report of an existing dispersal pathway in Staph aureus. If we can tap into this mechanism, then that might lead to better treatments." Read the full University News Services release at http://news-releases.uiowa.edu/2008/april/043008biofilms.html.
TRANSITIONSReisinger steps down as dean of UI International Programs William Reisinger, associate provost and dean of International Programs, has announced that he will step down from his administrative duties at the end of his three-year term to return to the faculty in the Department of Political Science in the University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Reisinger has served in this position since July 1, 2005. Before that, he served as interim dean for two years. Reisinger joined the UI faculty in 1985 and was promoted to full professor in 1996. He has taken a leadership role within UI International Programs since 1997, when he co-wrote a successful application for a $900,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to create a National Resource Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies. He served as director of the center from 1999 until 2001, when he was named chair of the Department of Political Science in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He chaired the committee that developed the International Programs Strategic Plan in spring 2000 and is a fellow with the UI Center for Human Rights.
UIMA director Collinson resigns; White named interim director Howard Creel Collinson, director of the University of Iowa Museum of Art (UIMA) since February 2000, has resigned. Pamela White, director of UI Pentacrest Museums—the Museum of Natural History and the Old Capitol Museum—will serve as interim UIMA director, according to UI Executive Vice President and Provost Lola Lopes. A national search for a new UIMA director will be launched at a later date. Collinson came to the University from the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, where he was the Mona Campbell Curator in the Department of Western Art and Culture. Among the major exhibitions he brought the UIMA were Lure of the West: Treasures from the Smithsonian Art Museum (2001); American Tableaux: Selections from Walker Art Center (2004); and VOOM PORTRAITS Robert Wilson (2008). In addition to serving as director of Pentacrest Museums, White is also the director of the Museum Studies Program at the University. She teaches Introduction to Museums during the fall semester and co-teaches Art, Law, and Ethics in the spring.
Deaths
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