News Briefs

Iowa House welcomes public to see renovations Kristen Weber and John Millsap, Iowa Memorial Union (IMU) employees, discuss plans for the Sept. 21 Iowa House open house. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and again from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., visitors are invited to stop by the IMU for refreshments and a look at the newly remodeled rooms on the third and fourth floor. The rooms feature new furniture, draperies, and bedspreads, and bathrooms have new tubs, showers, tile floors, and light fixtures. Thanks to new wiring, rooms have cable television, modem access, and a key card system. Four accessible rooms were included in the remodeling project. For open house information, call (33)5-3114. Information about meeting services and catering at the IMU also will be available during the open house. Photo by Rex Bavousett.

Holden family’s $25 million gift funds UI’s Cancer Center

A landmark gift from four generations of the Holden family of Williamsburg will provide unprecedented support for cancer research, education, and treatment at The University of Iowa. In recognition of this gift, UI officials will request approval from the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, at their September meeting for the naming of the Holden Cancer Center at the University.

The family’s gift, through the UI Foundation, also supports the Roland and Ruby Holden Cancer Research Laboratories in the UI’s new Medical Education and Biomedical Research Facility, now under construction on the health sciences campus.

The Holden family gift honors the late Roland W. Holden, who died in 1995. Holden founded Holden Foundation Seeds Inc., a corn seed research and genetics company based in Williamsburg, 30 miles west of Iowa City, in 1937. His family chose to celebrate his legacy by supporting research and treatment that may eventually cure the disease that took his life.

The $25 million gift, the largest ever received for UI health care initiatives, will support a full range of critical programs within the cancer center.



Mental illness subject of Mini Medical School

This fall’s University of Iowa Mini Medical School, "New Hope in Understanding and Treating Mental Illness," will address some common and little-understood conditions.

The three-session Mini Medical School courses will begin on Sept. 19, 7 p.m. in the Medical Alumni Auditorium of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. The Mini Medical School is free of charge and open to the public.

To register, or for more information, call (38)4-9988. To register on-line, visit the web site at www.uiowa.edu/~hsr/mmsreq.html.

Following is the Mini Medical School schedule:

Sept. 19

• Introduction to Psychiatry, Gerard Clancy, associate professor (clinical) of psychiatry
  
  
• Neuroanatomy and Neuroimaging, Nancy Andreasen, professor of psychiatry

Sept. 26

• Clinical Depression, Gerard Clancy
  
  
• Schizophrenia, Nancy Williams, assistant professor (clinical) of psychiatry

Oct. 3

• Psychiatric Conditions in Older People, Robert Robinson, professor and head of psychiatry
  
  
• The Future of Psychiatry, Peg Noupolos, assistant professor of psychiatry

Operations Manual deadline

The Office of the Vice President for University Relations is nearing its copy deadline for the 2001 Operations Manual. DEOs should forward any approved policy and procedure changes to Gerhild Krapf Greenhoe, 5 OC, (33)5-1886, no later than Sept. 15.

All substantive changes must follow the Protocol for Approval of University Policies on page iv of the Operations Manual. Revisions exceeding one paragraph in length should be submitted in both hard copy and electronic form. (To arrange for transfer of electronic files, please contact Eileen Bartos, 100 OPL, (38)4-0050, or eileen-bartos@uiowa.edu.)

Changes that have already been forwarded for on-line publication (see www.uiowa.edu/~our/opmanual/whatsnew.html) need not be resubmitted.



Iowa moves up in rankings

The University of Iowa is tied for 20th place among the best public universities in the country, according to the latest rankings published by U.S. News & World Report.

Sharing the 20th spot on the influential list of the top 50 public national universities are Ohio State University, Purdue University, and the University of Georgia. The UI’s tie for 20th place compares to a ranking of 21st last year and 26th the previous year.

The magazine also ranked undergraduate programs in business and engineering, where the Henry B. Tippie College of Business tied for 28th compared to a tie for 32nd last year, and the UI College of Engineering tied for 56th, compared to a tie for 52nd last year.

The rankings and other information are available on-line at www.usnews.com.



Celebrate Iowa Archaeology Month

A series of archaeology programs will be held Sept. 9 in recognition of Iowa Archaeology Month.

Behind-the-scenes tours of the Office of the State Archaeologist (OSA), located at 700 S. Clinton St., will be offered at 1 and 3 p.m. Visitors may participate in an "artifact road show" by bringing personal artifacts for identification by OSA staff from 1 to 4 p.m.

Activities including a lecture by OSA project archeologist Mark Anderson, an expert in flint-napping and primitive tool-making; a chance to see and try spear-throwing; and a lecture on and demonstration of pottery-making will take place at the Museum of Natural History, beginning at 2 p.m.

Finally, the department of geoscience will offer Stump the Paleontologists, in which participants may bring rocks and fossils for identification by department staff from 1 to 4 p.m. in 235 Trowbridge Hall. Tours of the Paleontology Repository will be offered at 1 and 3 p.m.

The programs are free and open to the public. For more information, contact David Brenzel, (33)5-0482 or at david-brenzel@uiowa.edu, or visit the museum’s web site at www.uiowa.edu/~nathist.



A chance to watch feathers fly

The public is invited to take part in Hawk Watch 2000 at the University’s Macbride Nature Recreation Area (MNRA) from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m., Sept. 16. The MNRA is located near Solon on County Road F28, one mile north of Mehaffey Bridge.

Activities include the chance to observe hawk migration, a hawk identification seminar at 9 and 11 a.m., a slide presentation on the project’s osprey introduction at 10 a.m., and live raptor programs at noon and 1 p.m.

For more information, call the Macbride Raptor Project, 398-5495.



United Way gears up

UI faculty and staff will be called upon for heroic acts of giving, as this year’s United Way of Johnson County campaign asks ordinary people to help in extraordinary ways.

Pledge forms will arrive through campus mail the week of Sept. 18 with a variety of options for giving.

Last year, faculty, staff, retirees, and UI Foundation employees set an all-time high with total donations of $346,845. This year’s combined goal is $400,000. The UI campaign runs through November.