News Briefs

Making the case for African art Victoria Rovine, curator of the arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, arranges objects in the open display case of the University of Iowa Museum of Art. The storage cabinets, designed and built by installation coordinator James Lindell, are part of the efforts by UIMA staff to make the museum’s collection more accessible to the public. A free tour of the museum’s European and American paintings, led by Pamela Trimpe, curator of painting and sculpture, will take place at 4 p.m. on Sept. 13. Photo by Tom Jorgensen.

Iowa Women’s Music Festival set for Sept. 15

The eighth annual Iowa Women’s Music Festival, cosponsored by the Women’s Resource and Action Center (WRAC) and Prairie Voices Productions, will be held from noon to 5 p.m. on Sept. 15 in Upper City Park. The festival features live music, vendors, food, games, and more. This year’s lineup includes Carol Montag, the Mad River Band, and the Trollies as well as international artists Zrazy and CommonbonD. For more information, call WRAC at (33)5-1486 or visit www.prairievoices.net.

Additional events scheduled in conjunction with the festival include classical music recitals, readings, and art shows. The most notable event, however, is the Sept. 14 and 15 presentation of The Vagina Monologues at Hancher Auditorium. For a full schedule of related activities, visit Hancher’s web site at www.uiowa.edu/~hancher/vweek.html.

IOWA nominations

Do you know a team or individual who has provided creative, efficient, and effective responses to challenges in their workplace? Nominate them for the IOWA (Improving Our Workplace Award). Information, applications, and past winner lists are available at www.uiowa.edu/hr/worklife/iowa.html or by calling (33)5-0560. Applications will be accepted until Nov. 1.



Nobel winner to address biotechnology

Robert Fogel, the economic historian and theorist who shares the 1993 Nobel Prize in Economics, will discuss issues concerning biotechnology and the burden of age-related diseases from 1 to 2 p.m. on Sept. 6 at the College of Law.

Fogel’s presentation will be held in the Levitt Auditorium of the Boyd Law Building. The lecture is open to the public.

Fogel, a professor at the University of Chicago, has written extensively on political, social, and economic history. He and his colleague, economist Douglass C. North, were awarded the Nobel Prize for “having renewed research in economic history by applying economic theory and quantitative methods in order to explain economic and institutional change,” according to the Nobel proclamation.



Verdi scholars to visit campus

Four leading international Verdi scholars will visit The University of Iowa this fall to share their insights on the life and music of one of the most famous and popular composers of all times as part of International Programs’ Distinguished Lecture Series “Perspectives on the Music of Verdi.”

The first lecture in the series will be Sept. 10, when Roger Parker, professor of music at Cambridge University, will present “Of recognition scenes and Andalusian maidens: Crossed wires in Il trovatore and La traviata” at 7:30 p.m. in Harper Hall, Voxman Music Building.

All lectures in the series are free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.uiowa.edu/~ournews/2001/august/0829verdi-series.html.



United Way campaign begins

Help those in need and give generously this fall during the University’s charitable giving campaign. United Way of Johnson County kicks off the season the week of Sept. 10, followed by Iowa Shares and Community Health Charities of Iowa.

A new e-form self-service feature will make it easy for employees to give to the charities of their choice through payroll deduction. The new form is available at hris.uiowa.edu/selfservice. This method is completely confidential and users will not need to return the paper pledge form.

Help set new records of employee participation during this crucial time of federal, state, and local budget cuts that could reduce community programs and services to those in need.



UI Press offers new poetry and fiction titles with University ties

In 1991, Frank Conroy, director of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, compiled The Iowa Award: The Best Stories from Twenty Years to celebrate the stories discovered by the Iowa Short Fiction Award and its companion, the John Simmons Short Fiction Award. He follows that now with The Iowa Award: The Best Stories, 1991-2000, a collection of 21 winning selections.

The authors—from 1991 winners Elizabeth Harris and Sondra Spatt Olsen to newcomers John McNally and Elizabeth Oness—explore the nuances of love, lust, youth, old age, illness, nostalgia, obsession, idiosyncrasy, and surprise.

A new poetry series from UI Press called Kuhl House Poets debuts Sept. 7 with the publication of three inaugural volumes. Series editors Mark Levine, assistant professor of creative writing, and Jorie Graham, former Writers’ Workshop faculty member, seek to publish work that is formally and verbally inventive, adventurous work that takes its own path outside established routes of either traditional or experimental poetry.

The poetry books are Airs, Waters, Places by Bin Ramke; Such Rich Hour by Cole Swensen; and The Keep by Emily Wilson.

The books are available at local bookstores or by calling 800-621-2736. For more information, visit the UI Press web site at www.uiowa.edu/~uipress.



Iowans to dig for history during Iowa Archaeology Month

Iowans of all ages can learn about their state’s archaeological history this September during Iowa Archaeology Month, which highlights archaeological resources and focuses attention to the state’s rich archaeological history.

This year’s theme is “Hunting and Gathering for Iowa’s Past.” Activities, which will be held across the state, include discussions about Fort Des Moines II and Ft. Atkinson, the 19th-century community of Bowen’s Prairie in Jones County, edible plant walks, a Lewis and Clark Native American perspective presentation, book displays, and lectures about prehistoric diets as gleaned from animal and plant remains. Additional topics include underwater archaeology at Lake Okoboji, Meskwaki tribal history and culture, and African American sites archaeology.

For more information, contact Lynn Alex, public archaeology coordinator with the Office of the State Archaeologist, (38)4-0561, lynn-alex@uiowa.edu, or visit www.uiowa.edu/~osa/focus/public/iam.