News Briefs

Engineering students avoid a soupy egg drop When the biomedical engineering students decided to hold an egg drop on Nov. 8, departmental secretary Mart Tesdell (above) served as one of the judges. The 23 teams of students designed protective bundles consisting of rubber bands, plastic bags, and other materials to soften the blow as the eggs were dropped from the fourth to the first floor in the atrium of the Seamans Center for the Engineering Arts and Sciences. “Only one egg came through unscathed,” Tesdell says, “but there were some amazingly innovative designs.”

Evaluation and Exam Service offers quick turnaround

During final exam week, the office hours for Evaluation and Examination Service will be Dec. 17 to 21, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Dec. 22, 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.

During finals week, all test analyses and composites will be completed within four hours. “Quick Turnaround” scoring (raw scores–no item analysis) will be completed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Because finals week 2001 immediately precedes the holidays, any exams brought in for scoring on Dec. 22, between 8 and 11 a.m. will be completed and ready for pickup that same day.

Iowa celebrates Saint Mirabai

A two-day special program of events to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the birth of the famous Hindu saint, Mirabai, has been slated for Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, at The University of Iowa. The event is sponsored by the South Asian Studies Program (SASP) in conjunction with University of Iowa International Programs.

The multidisciplinary celebration will feature a lecture series, film show, music, and dance performances, all with the theme: “Mira: Re-Presenting a Radical Woman.”

The celebration begins at 4 p.m., Nov. 30, in Room 315 of Phillips Hall with a lecture, “In search of Mira: Multiple representations of a Hindu woman saint,” by Nancy M. Martin, associate professor of Religious Studies at Chapman University.

For information about this and other events, contact Phillip Lutgendorf at (33)5-2157 or philip-lutgendorf@uiowa.edu.



Homeland Security in Iowa

Ellen Gordon, administrator of the Iowa Emergency Management Division and Homeland Security adviser for Iowa, will speak on “Preparedness and Homeland Security in Iowa” as part of the University of Iowa College of Public Health Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) Seminar Series. The lecture will be from noon to 1 p.m. Nov. 14 in the Medical Alumni Auditorium (E-331 General Hospital).

The lecture, sponsored by the Iowa Center for Public Health Preparedness, the Center for Public Health Practice, and the Iowa Association of Local Public Health Agencies, is free and open to the public.

As Iowa’s Homeland Security adviser, Gordon serves as Iowa’s liaison to the federal government’s antiterrorism effort and the newly created federal Homeland Security Office.



Family event at Museum of Art

The University of Iowa Museum of Art will present the 10th annual Snowflake Family Festival from noon until 5 p.m. on Dec. 2. The event, sponsored by Hills Bank and Trust Co., is an afternoon of art, music, entertainment, activities for children, and refreshments. It is free and open to the public.

Activities include performances by the Eulenspiegel Puppet Theater, who will perform at 1and 1:30 p.m. At 2 p.m. the Chamber Singers of Iowa City will perform in the Sculpture Court and the Preucil School of Music will perform at 3 p.m. From noon to 4 p.m., visitors may make snowflakes and snowbirds. A selection of children’s videos by William Wegman will play throughout the day in the Projection Room.



Philosopher to lecture Nov. 29

The Department of Philosophy presents the 35th annual E. W. Hall Lecture with speaker Ruth Garrett Millikan. Millikan is the Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor and Alumni Association Distinguished Professor at the University of Cleveland and a past president of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology. Her lecture, “Purposes and cross-purposes,” draws on evolutionary biology, as she approaches human thought and language as on a continuum with other animal behavior.

The lecture will be at 8 p.m., Nov. 29, in the Iowa Room, IMU.

Millikan also will lecture on Nov. 30 at 3:30 p.m. in 107 EPB, on “Compositionality and embedding in soft natural signs.”



Cutbacks increase importance of Iowa’s United Way giving

David Skorton, vice president for research and interim vice president for external relations, recently sent a memo to deans, directors, and departmental officers regarding the importance of United Way giving. The text of the memo is excerpted below:

As reported recently by the local media, at least $1.2 million in cuts from state, federal, and local funding sources will drastically change the way agencies affiliated with United Way of Johnson County provide services to families, friends, and neighbors. Services to children, youth, families, persons with disabilities and other special needs, the elderly, low-income families, and victims of violence will be affected. In short, people may not be able to receive the help they need, when they need it.

To call attention to the critical need in our community, UI departments and units can assist by sponsoring a 10-minute informational presentation from a United Way speaker before or after a regularly scheduled department or unit meeting; touring a United Way agency to learn how people in our community are supported by health and human services; sharing information about how employees can make a financial contribution to United Way; or volunteering at a United Way agency.

Call the United Way of Johnson County at 338-7823 to request a speaker, tour or make a pledge. Current UI donations total $160,768.02, with a UI goal of $450,000. United Way’s community-wide goal is $1.9 million; currently, 45 percent of the goal has been reached.

“In a sense, we are in a triage situation,” says Janet R. Peterson, agency and community services director for United Way of Johnson County. “Agencies will be forced to cut staff and vital programs that we take for granted in our community.”

To make a donation, use the new self-service web-page form to approve your pledge for payroll deduction. It is located at http://hris.uiowa.edu/selfservice. To make a donation by cash or check, automatic deduction from a checking account, credit card, or direct billing from United Way, please call the United Way of Johnson County at 338-7823.



Benefits sign-up deadline nears

A reminder that Nov. 30 is the deadline to sign up for employee benefits, including health, dental, life, and other insurance. Information packets were sent to UI employees in October. On-line benefit enrollment also is available at http://hris.uiowa.edu/selfservice. Open enrollment for merit staff members ended Nov. 5.