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News in Brief
AROUND CAMPUSUI Foundation sets new fundraising record The University of Iowa Foundation announced that in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, the organization raised $161,893,572 in outright and deferred gifts for areas throughout The University of Iowa, an increase of 9.3 percent over the previous fiscal year. The figure included an all-time high of $96,746,495 in outright gifts, a 10.6 percent increase in such gifts over fiscal year 2007. Other UI Foundation and UI fundraising highlights from fiscal year 2008 include:
For more information about the UI Foundation visit www.uifoundation.org.
Recommendations for tenure and promotions due Feb. 9 Over the next few months, departments and colleges will make recommendations for the awarding of tenure and promotions in academic rank that will be effective for the 2009-10 academic year. Collegiate recommendations are due to the Office of the Provost by Feb. 9, 2009. All colleges are encouraged to start the process immediately. An early start will help ensure that each college and department has ample time to identify candidates for promotion, implement systematic procedures in accordance with University and collegiate policies, and provide all candidates with thorough, fair, and careful review at each step of the process.
Nominations deadline extended for Catalyst Awards The University of Iowa Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity (EOD) has extended the deadline for submission of nominations for this year’s Catalyst Awards. The Catalyst Awards are designed to honor those who, during the past year, have shown a university commitment to achieving excellence through diversity by promoting the development of an inclusive, diverse campus community. Nominations are now being accepted through Monday, Oct. 13. Nominations are invited for the following categories: individual faculty or staff member; a program or department, and student or student organization. Each recipient will receive a $1,500 award to be presented at a recognition ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 13, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the Levitt Center for University Advancement. Criteria and nomination forms are available at www.uiowa.edu/~eod/diversity/catalyst-awards. For more information, contact the EOD, 202 Jessup Hall, at 319-335-0705 (voice) or 319-335-0697 (text).
Instructional Improvement Awards support teaching initiatives The Council on Teaching is now accepting proposals from faculty and staff directly involved with student instruction for special funding to support instructional initiatives that will make exceptional and specific contributions to learning.
Go Green Initiative identifies waste stream problems, solutions Student environmentalists from UI Environmental Coalition and Engineers for a Sustainable World, along with interested College of Dentistry faculty and staff, gathered Sept. 17 on the Dental Sciences Building lawn as part of the college's Go Green Initiative. Approximately 25 participants sorted waste collected at the building, performing a baseline audit of the building's waste stream in order to identify opportunities for reducing landfill waste and expanding what is captured for recycling. The event revealed an unconventional waste stream compared to typical academic facilities, with a significant amount of dental clinic-related waste, including disposable lab gowns, sterilization pouches, plaster and wax castings, and plastic and rubber gloves. Solutions identified include educating lab and facilities occupants for reducing certain types of waste, locating recycle markets for others, and altering lab disposal practices. For more information about the University's Go Green program, visit www.facilities.uiowa.edu/Recycle/recyc.htm.
Looking to add a little adventure to your life? The University of Iowa's Touch the Earth Outdoor Recreation and Education Program is offering a number of upcoming adventure trips, which include hiking, mountain biking, and canoeing. Upcoming trips include:
Visit www.recserv.uiowa.edu/programs/TTE/noncredit for trip details and deadlines. To register, visit the Outdoor Rental Center in the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex, 2820 Prairie Meadow Drive. The trips are open to everyone, including faculty, staff, and the general public.
Discounts for UI employees featured on new web site The UI Employee Discount Program has a new, more user-friendly web site at www.uiowa.edu/~cqi/uiedp. The program, maintained by Organizational Effectiveness, part of Human Resources, offers discounts and other incentives—from cell phone and computer markdowns to reduced gym rates. See the full list at www.uiowa.edu/~cqi/uiedp.
Buildings magazine lists UI Facilities Management among top 10
Resources available for UI faculty, staff members impacted by flood An emergency relief fund is available to help faculty, staff, and students recover from the floods. Staff and faculty interested in applying for financial assistance from the UI Flood Relief Fund are encouraged to visit the UI Flood Assistance Request Page www.uiowa.edu/floodrecovery/uihelp.html. A Hawk ID and password are required to enter the site. Faculty and staff requesting financial support from the flood fund will be asked to schedule a confidential appointment to meet with an eligibility coordinator. Appointments can be scheduled by visiting the UI Flood Assistance Request Page or by calling 3UI-FUND (384-3863). Additionally, a UI Flood Exchange web site, www.uiowa.edu/floodrecovery/flood-relief/flood-exchange, has been created where members of the UI community can post messages seeking or offering assistance to one another. For more flood-related resources, news, and information, visit the UI Flood Recovery web site www.uiowa.edu/floodrecovery.
See what Learning and Development courses are right for you UI Learning and Development, a unit of Organizational Effectiveness, provides professional development services to faculty and staff. There are many learning opportunities that will support your professional development and growth. Look for classroom instruction on leadership issues for managers, frontline supervisors, human resource professionals, and office professionals. Check out the following links:
DISCOVERIESUI research shows tort reform sometimes lowers insurance premiums A researcher at the University of Iowa has found that tort reform laws do lower insurance premiums and save consumers money, though it depends on where the consumer lives. Ty Leverty, assistant professor of finance in the Tippie College of Business, recently studied how insurance companies respond to tort reform laws passed by state legislatures. The laws are designed to limit financial awards that can be paid to plaintiffs in liability lawsuits, which saves the insurance companies money and should keep the cost of premiums under control for consumers. But consumer advocates say that insurance companies don't pass along the savings to consumers through lower premiums. Advocates suggest insurance companies keep the additional money instead and improve their profits. Leverty's study, though, shows that, in fact, insurance companies do lower their premiums, depending on the circumstances of the law. The decision, he said, turns on the likelihood of each law surviving a legal challenge because tort reform laws have a checkered history in the courts. Read the full University News Services release at http://news-releases.uiowa.edu/2008/september/092208insurance.html.
UI team develops imaging approach for difficult cancer diagnosis University of Iowa researchers have developed a new imaging approach for identifying a rare form of thyroid cancer that is typically hard to diagnose. Accurate diagnosis of the cancer, known as poorly differentiated thyroid cancer (PDTC), can help physicians choose the best treatment for the patient. The study results, which appear in the Sept. 18 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, also raise the possibility of extending the use of radioiodine therapy to thyroid cancers where the thyroid gland cannot be surgically removed. Radioiodine therapy takes advantage of the fact that thyroid cells are the only tissue that takes up iodine and thus delivers radioactive iodine to cancerous thyroid tissue. This targeted radiation therapy often is used to destroy any cancerous thyroid cells that remain after removal of the thyroid gland—an approach often used to treat thyroid cancer. Read the full University News Services release at http://news-releases.uiowa.edu/2008/september/091808thyroidcancer.html.
Researchers develop new model for cystic fibrosis In a first, researchers at the University of Iowa and the University of Missouri have developed a pig model for cystic fibrosis (CF) that appears to closely mimic the disease in human infants. The striking similarities between disease manifestations in the CF piglets and human newborns with CF suggest that this new model will help improve understanding of the disease and may also speed discovery of new treatments. The study is published in the Sept. 26 issue of Science. CF is a common hereditary disease that affects multiple organ systems, including the intestines, pancreas, and lung. Mice with CF-causing mutations have helped researchers learn more about this disease; however, differences in physiology and biology mean that mice with CF mutations do not develop many of the typical symptoms that affect humans with CF. "Lack of a better model has hampered our ability to answer long-standing questions in CF," explained Christopher Rogers, a former postdoctoral fellow in internal medicine at the UI Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, and one of the study's lead authors. Read the full University News Services release at http://news-releases.uiowa.edu/2008/september/092508cystic_fibrosis.html.
Survival varies widely after emergency treatment for cardiac arrest An analysis of cardiac arrest outcomes for people treated initially out of hospital by emergency medical services (EMS) in 10 areas in North America finds a five-fold range of difference in survival rates. Iowa, one of the study areas, compared favorably in "survival to discharge," with 11 percent of patients treated by EMS in out-of-hospital situations surviving through hospital discharge, compared to the study average of 7.9 percent. However, in terms of the use of EMS treatment for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, people in Iowa were slightly less likely to receive such care—51.3 per 100,000 of Iowa's population compared to 56 per 100,000 in the study population overall. Read the full University News Services release at http://news-releases.uiowa.edu/2008/september/092508cardiac_ems.html.
UI researchers find potentially toxic substance present in Chicago air Although the industrial compounds known as polychlorinated biphenols or PCBs have been found in previous air samples collected in the city of Chicago, a University of Iowa researcher says that a new study of Chicago air sampled between November 2006 and November 2007 found PCB11, a byproduct of the manufacture of paint pigments and a potentially toxic substance, present throughout the city. "To the best of our knowledge, this is the first published report of PCB11 in ambient air," said Keri Hornbuckle, UI professor of civil and environmental engineering, in the Sept. 24 online issue of the journal Environmental Science & Technology. The journal can be found at http://pubs.acs.org/journals/esthag. Read the full University News Services release at http://news-releases.uiowa.edu/2008/september/092608chicago_air.html.
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