News Briefs

Keeping it moving Dave Willis, a customer service representative in Facilities Services Group (FSG), directs David Fischer of Bettendorf to a parking spot near Burge Hall. Fischer was trying to unload the belongings of his daughter, Rebecca, a first-year student who was moving into the residence halls on Aug. 20. Willis was one of 13 staff members participating in a pilot volunteer program, initiated by FSG, to assist Residence Services with move-in activities. Photo by Kirk Murray.

College of Liberal Arts opens academic year with new name

Beginning Aug. 27, The University of Iowa’s largest college has a new name—College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. A ceremony to mark the official renaming will be held Sept. 5 at 3:30 p.m. in the Iowa Memorial Union Ballroom.

The name change was prompted by a desire to reflect more accurately the breadth of the college’s academic offerings, said Linda Maxson, dean of the college. Some universities separate the arts and sciences in two colleges, she added, but usually when a college encompasses both, its name includes both arts and sciences.

After the college’s faculty voted during the 2000-01 academic year to support the change, Maxson formally requested approval from the Board of Regents, State of Iowa. The board approved the change in December 2000, effective at the beginning of the 2001-02 academic year.

As the college changes its name, its Academic Programs office is being renamed CLAS Academic Programs and Services. The office’s new e-mail address is clasps@uiowa.edu.

More information about the college is available on its redesigned web page, www.clas.uiowa.edu. The college’s new e-mail address is clas@uiowa.edu.



Construction begins for unique University Honors Center

UI officials and other dignitaries gathered on July 25 to break ground on the site of the future Myron and Jacqueline N. Blank Honors Center. The building will be located between Daum Residence Hall and the T. Anne Cleary Walkway.

The center will house the Connie Belin and Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development and the Honors Program, making The University of Iowa the first school in the nation to offer—under one roof—programs, services, and support for academically gifted and talented students from kindergarten through college.

The new building will include a basement and six floors with a total of 58,700 square feet. It will be connected to a proposed UI Careers Center at both the basement and second-floor levels.



Get down on negativity

If “negaholics” have you feeling beat, Cultivating Winning Attitudes: How to Handle Negativity in the Workplace can be just what you need to turn things around.

With case studies and true-to-life examples, David Robey demonstrates tools and techniques for creating improved levels of positive workgroup involvement. Learn to deal with negative coworkers, neutralize flare-ups between departments, and rebuild communication channels.

The program will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Aug. 29. The registration fee of $99 includes seminar materials and break refreshments. Call Staff Development at (33)5-2687 for registration and information.



Comparative genomics center to open

The University of Iowa Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has received a $700,000 grant from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust of Muscatine to establish a Center for Comparative Genomics beginning fall semester 2001.

Housed in the newly renovated Biology Building West, the center will be one of the first of its kind in the United States and will establish the University as a leader in the new and emerging discipline of comparative genomics, which involves studying the inter-relatedness of all life forms.

The center’s director will be William Ballard, former Pritzker Associate Curator of the Field Museum in Chicago and one of the preeminent names in the field. A number of current UI faculty members will be affiliated with the center.



UI’s energy agreement still in force

Reminder: The University’s energy curtailment agreement with MidAmerican Energy extends until Sept. 30. The University has been curtailed three times this past summer and could potentially be curtailed 13 times more before the agreement ends. Information on curtailment can be found at www.uiowa.edu/~fusfsg/utils/curtailment.htm.



Museum of Art ready for fall

The University of Iowa Museum of Art will reopen on Aug. 31, ready to provide a whole new experience for its visitors.

For the first time in many years, the galleries will be dominated by art from the museum’s own collection. To complement the new presentation of art, there will be a new museum store, a new museum coffee bar, and a new look for all the museum’s publications.

The museum will now be open noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday, and noon to 10 p.m. Thursday and Friday. Lectures, musical performances, and special events will be presented on selected Thursday and Friday evenings.



Hancher joins e-commerce revolution

Aug. 17 marks the advent of on-line ticketing through the Hancher Auditorium web page: www.uiowa.edu/hancher. The box office is open for phone sales at (33)5-1160 and ticket-window sales, but the new on-line service makes UI arts ticket-buying available 24 hours a day.

Service charges of $3 per order plus $1 per ticket are added to on-line orders, making Hancher’s on-line ticketing one of the least expensive performing-arts e-ticketing services.

On-line ticketing is available not only for Hancher-sponsored events, but also for Division of Performing Arts events, including the Dance Gala, University Theatres Mainstage performances, the Martha-Ellen Tye Opera Theater, the Band Extravaganza, and the Old Gold Singers “Cocoa and Carols.”



Iowa listed as ‘Best Buy’

The University of Iowa offers an inexpensive and high-quality education, according to The Fiske Guide to Colleges 2002. The University is the only Iowa institution on the Fiske list of 43 “Best Buy” colleges and universities, which were determined by the quality of the academic offerings in relation to the cost of attendance.

The Fiske “Best Buy” recognition follows on the heels of Newsweek/Kaplan College Catalog 2002 naming the University of Iowa one of the top schools in the country for supporting diversity.