Briefs

Costumed tuba and euphonium players of a past year brave cold winds and valve-freezing cold to play carols and pops favorites on Old Capitol steps. This year’s performance will be at 12:30 p.m. Dec. 13 near Macbride Hall. Photo by Rex Bavousett.

Final oompah Dec. 13 for leader of holiday tradition

For at least 25 years—or maybe more, nobody seems to know for sure—Robert Yeats and the tuba players at the University of Iowa School of Music have played carols and other holiday songs on the Pentacrest on the last day of fall semester classes.

That’s right: tubas and similar instruments, oompah-ing songs like “Jingle Bells,” outdoors in the cold weather.

For Yeats, who has announced an early retirement at the end of the current academic year, this year’s performance at 12:30 p.m. Dec. 13, somewhere on the Pentacrest, will be his last. The concert most likely will be near Macbride Hall, to avoid Old Capitol construction.

Yeats is looking forward to escaping the chill of Iowa Decembers. “I’m hoping to hang up my Santa suit and, for a change, spend the last day of classes someplace warm next year,” he says.

Help with a dig

University of Iowa archaeologists will open their labs to the public Dec. 7 and 8 for the first in a series of laboratory weekends at the Office of the State Archaeologist, 700 S. Clinton St.

Participants will assist with the processing and analysis of artifacts collected from a 19th-century pottery factory in Van Buren County excavated in August and September. The event is free and open to the public and no experience is necessary. Anyone interested in attending should contact Lynn Alex at (38)4-0561.

New medicine dean selected

Jean Robillard will take over as dean of the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine Feb. 1, 2003. Robillard is professor and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Michigan Medical School and physician-in-chief at C.S. Children’s Hospital, where he has been a member of the faculty since 1996. Prior to that, he was vice chair of the Department of Pediatrics and director of the pediatric nephrology division of UI Health Care.

He succeeds Robert P. Kelch, who will step down as dean to concentrate on his duties as UI vice president for health affairs.

Old Capitol claim filed

The University has asked its insurance carrier for a $3 million cash advance on a claim of $5.6 million for damages on Old Capitol after the Nov. 20, 2001, fire that destroyed the landmark’s dome.

The advance would help to pay for restoration work that has been under way while determination of the damages was pending.

The claim was filed with Factory Mutual Global Insurance under a policy the University has held since 1990.

Portions of the new dome are being constructed off-site. The University is estimating that the dome will be put in place in March.

A Renaissance Christmas

December’s Lunch with the Chefs will feature a four-course meal based on the theme “A Renaissance Christmas” on Dec. 5 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in the IMU River Room.

The menu features three-peppercorn roast loin of beef, apple butternut squash, watercress and cabbage salad with honey mustard dressing, mélange of roasted winter vegetables, country bread with butter, almond tart with cherry preserves, and wassail, a warmed mulled cider. The cost is $6.50.

Decision nears on new president

Members of the UI Presidential Search and Screen Advisory Committee interviewed several candidates for the University presidency at off-campus locations during late November and early December.

The committee plans to invite some of those candidates for on-campus interviews during the weeks of Dec. 9 and Dec. 16.

Following the on-campus interviews, the committee will recommend at least four finalists for consideration by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa. The Regents hope to announce the new president in January.

Martin Luther King Jr. events

Events of the Martin Luther King Jr. observance and Human Rights Week have been announced:

Jan. 19

• Worship celebration, Zion Lutheran Church, 310 N. Johnson St.

Jan. 20

• Community convocation, 7 p.m., second floor ballroom, IMU.

Jan. 21

• Awareness of diabetes: educate yourself, 6:30 p.m., Afro American Cultural Center, 303 Melrose Ave.
  
  
• National Council of Christians and Jews holiday forums: from dreams to action, 7 p.m., Buchanan Auditorium, PBB.

Jan. 22

• Celebrating our diversity: a cultural awareness event, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., East Room RCP, UIHC.
  
  
• Centers of activism: the cultural center movement on the UI campus, 1971-present, 7 p.m., 346 IMU.

Jan. 23

• Blacks and Jews in conversation, 7 p.m., 179 IMU.
  
  
• “Nigger: the strange career of a troublesome word,” Randall Kennedy, 7:30 p.m., 180 IMU.

Jan. 24

• Department of Mathematics-Iowa ACEP Martin Luther King celebration, 3:30 p.m., 180 IMU.
  
  
• The Fighting Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, lecture and discussion, 6:30 p.m., 346 IMU.
  
  
• Urban Bush Women, “Shadow’s Child,” 8 p.m., Hancher Auditorium.

Jan. 28

• Embargoed Lives: the Iraq I knew, 7:30 p.m., 166 IMU.
  
  

‘C’ Store to open in Hillcrest

A new convenience store will open in Hillcrest Residence Hall Jan. 20, marking the completion of the extensive Hillcrest Market Place renovation.

The Hillcrest Market Place “C” Store is open to students and the general public. Purchases may be made with cash, charge, or Hawkeye Dollars, which are allotted to students as part of their meal plans.

The store will be open Monday-Thursday from 7 a.m. to midnight, Friday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to midnight.

The Department of Residence Services says that in conjunction with the store opening, it will begin continuous food service in Hillcrest from 6:45 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Weekend hours will continue as they are this semester, with no continuous service offered.

Spirit Dancers join marathon

Dance Marathon has always been a student activity, but now, with the introduction of a Spirit Dancer program, faculty and staff will be able to participate Feb. 7-8.

Dance Marathon provides financial support to families whose children are served by the Pediatric Oncology and Hematology Unit at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

The Spirit Dancers program invites University faculty and staff as well as community members to experience Dance Marathon while helping to raise funds and show support to dancers. A registration form is available at the Dance Marathon web site, www.dancemarathon.org. Registrations must be returned to the office no later than Dec. 15. A minimum donation of $150 is required to participate.

fyi holiday schedule

fyi will publish Jan. 10, 2003, a week later than our usual first-Friday-of-the-month date, in order to coincide with the return to campus of many faculty and staff people following winter break.

The deadline for copy for the Jan. 10 issue is Dec. 27. Deadline for calendar items to be submitted to Penny Caldwell, Campus Information Center, IMU, is Dec. 31. The fax number is (33)5-0497.

Regular delivery schedules will resume with the February issue.