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News in Brief
AROUND CAMPUSJapanese teachers-in-training exchange knowledge, best practices in schools Nine Japanese teachers-in-training arrived on the University of Iowa campus Sept. 20 to share lessons with local elementary and secondary school students on everything from sumo wrestling and kimono culture to traditional Japanese toys and stories, thanks to a partnership with the UI College of Education. Every two years, a group of Japanese students from Joetsu University of Education spends more than a week visiting local attractions and offering an exchange of cultures at local elementary and secondary schools in eastern Iowa. The group also takes part in events on the UI campus. The 10-day Joetsu Exchange is facilitated by UI International Programs. The exchange is part of a global collaboration between The University of Iowa and the Japanese teaching university, a relationship that spans more than 20 years and was initiated by Robert Yager, UI professor emeritus of science education, and the late John McClure, UI associate professor emeritus of curriculum and supervision. “As has been the tradition for many years, the Joetsu students will participate in lectures and discussions with our students and faculty at the UI College of Education, focusing on the American educational system and teaching English as a Second Language,” says Gregory Hamot, a professor in the COE Department of Teaching and Learning who also coordinates the college’s international students and programs. This connection is one of an estimated 100 formal partnerships between the UI and international institutions. For more information or a complete schedule of the group’s itinerary, contact Nicholas O’Brien, graduate research assistant with UI International Programs, at 319-335-3512, or Carly Andrews, IP Outreach Coordinator, at 319-335-0345.
UI Disability Summit to be held Oct. 6 The University of Iowa second annual Disability Summit will be held from noon to 3:45 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 6, in the Van Oel Multipurpose Room of Currier Hall. The event will feature a keynote speech, “A Welcoming and Inclusive Campus Environment for People with Disabilities,” by Andrew Imparato, president and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities. The schedule of events for the summit is as follows:
Registration is required by Thursday, Oct. 1; to register, visit http://survey.uiowa.edu/wsb.dll/280/divsummit2009.htm. For more information about the summit, visit www.uiowa.edu/~eod.
UI presents Works-in-Progress Arts Festival Oct. 1–3 The University of Iowa Department of Cinema and Comparative Literature is presenting a unique arts festival, one that encourages the public to provide feedback on unfinished projects in painting, film, poetry, music, dance, theater, translation, and any medium in between. The Works-in-Progress (WiP) Festival will showcase the work of UI students, local artists, and visiting artists Oct. 1–3 at three locations in downtown Iowa City. The entire festival is free and open to the public. Works in the noncompetitive festival will be “workshopped” by festival attendees and other artists. Because the works presented will be unfinished, it will be up to the artists and spectators to imagine how each piece could be completed to best achieve each artist’s stated aims. “Our goal is to involve the audience in the creative process and to encourage collaboration between artists,” says Richard Wiebe, who is curating the festival with Andrew Peterson. Both are doctoral students in film studies in Cinema and Comparative Literature. For more information about the festival, visit http://wipfestival.org.
Symposium on energy, climate change in Midwest scheduled for Oct. 16–17 The University of Iowa Public Policy Center, the Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research (CGRER), the Office of the President, and the Office of Sustainability have announced the next symposium in the Forkenbrock Series on Public Policy. “Energy and Climate Change in the Midwest: Creating Opportunities in the New Economy” will take place Friday–Saturday, Oct. 16–17, at the University of Iowa Athletic Club. The symposium presents an opportunity to look to the future of energy in the Midwest in light of the causes and effects of global climate change and the potential benefits of a green economy. Topics to be covered include climate change and energy in the Midwest; renewable energy and the Midwest: current research and technology, opportunities for change in the future; energy efficiency and the Midwest; agriculture and energy issues; and state, local, and federal-level policy responses. To register for the symposium or learn more about the program, go to http://ppc.uiowa.edu/midwestenergy, or contact Peter C. Damiano, Public Policy Center director, at peter-damiano@uiowa.edu or 319-335-6800.
String players sought for faculty/staff orchestra Mark Bernat, performing arts coordinator for Project Art, the visual and performing arts program at UI Hospitals and Clinics, is seeking string players (violin, viola, cello, bass) who would be interested in playing in an orchestra comprised of University of Iowa faculty and staff. The level of commitment would be minimal, perhaps one hour per week. The time and location of rehearsals will be determined once level of interest is determined. Faculty and staff interested in participating should contact Bernat at mark-bernat@uiowa.edu.
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 business researchers help health care organizations control costs A group of researchers at the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business is using the principles of more efficient manufacturing processes in an effort to help contain ever-increasing health care costs. “Whether you’re talking about health care or manufacturing, ‘Lean’ manufacturing provides a framework to systematically improve service and lower costs,” says Barrett Thomas, assistant professor of management sciences in the Tippie College and a Lean expert. Barrett and other Lean experts on the Tippie faculty work with students to teach the principles of Lean operations so they can help their organizations operate more efficiently. Lean manufacturing is a comprehensive process that involves everyone in the organization, from the CEO down to the people on the line, Thomas says. Changes could be as major as redesigning an entire assembly line, or as basic as simply moving a single piece of machinery or equipment storage area. Health care is one of the Tippie researchers’ focuses, and the students have hands-on opportunities to see how Lean principles are applied in the field at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and Mercy Hospital in Cedar Rapids. The two organizations already have extensive Lean systems in place. “Lean is not just brainstorming, it’s making things happen during an ongoing period of time,” says Philip C. Jones, Sylvia and Clement T. Hanson professor of Management Sciences in the Tippie College and a Lean expert. “If something doesn’t work, then you tweak it a little bit until it gets better one day at a time.” While the principles are the same, Lean health care and Lean manufacturing are different enough that there is no one-size-fits-all template. After all, the Lean goal in manufacturing differs significantly from the Lean goal in health care. “In manufacturing, Lean principles are about adding value to a product,” says Sabi Singh, who coordinates the Lean program at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics as assistant vice president for operations excellence and quality/safety. “In health care, the focus is on improving the patient’s experience, which leads to eliminating waste and non-value added steps, which in turn improves finances.” Read the full University News Services story at http://news-releases.uiowa.edu/2009/september/091709health_care_costs.html.
Study: Childhood abuse seems to impact gene involved in depression A new study finds a possible link between childhood abuse and changes to a molecular process—gene methylation—that controls a gene associated with depression. The investigation, which appeared online this month in the American Journal of Medical Genetics, was led by the University of Georgia and involved The University of Iowa. In particular, the team found that in men and women reporting childhood abuse there are changes in the regulatory area, called the CpG island, that controls the expression of the gene that is the key regulator of serotonin and whose protein product is the primary target of most antidepressants. A previous UI study showed that variations in this gene are linked to depression. This current study now suggests that changes to a regulatory area of the gene could separately or additionally affect the gene function. The study, which was based on genetic data from 192 adults and their childhood recollections, was led by Steven Beach, PhD, director of the Institute of Behavioral Research at the University of Georgia. The investigation was based on the work of the study’s senior author Robert Philibert, UI professor of psychiatry, whose works focuses on molecular mechanisms that might explain gene-environmental interactions that affect mental and physical health. “This finding is preliminary in that we might find that the association is accounted for by other, later experiences that are more common for people who have experienced child abuse, or we might find that methylation may be associated with certain facets of child maltreatment and not others” Beach says. “However, it may be that childhood maltreatment leaves a lasting mark in the form of gene methylation, and this may be important as we look for new ways to help those who have experienced childhood maltreatment, including longer-term effects.” Read the full University News Services release at http://news-releases.uiowa.edu/2009/september/091809abusedepression.html.
Iowa business professor studies why GORE-TEX maker so successful For years, poll after poll has put W.L. Gore & Associates near the top of the list of best places to work. In a study published in Organizational Dynamics, Greg Stewart, a management and organization professor in the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business, and two colleagues found the company’s success stems from its unique management structure. Or, or more accurately, lack of one. Gore is a consumer and industrial products development company that is perhaps best known for its GORE-TEX line of outdoor clothing. The company has more than 8,500 employees worldwide with annual revenues of more than $2 billion and is on Forbes magazine’s list of the 500 largest privately held companies. Stewart and his coauthors—Frank Shipper of Salisbury University and Charles Manz of the University of Massachusetts—conducted interviews with several of Gore’s leaders and employees to find out what makes it so unique that it has appeared on most every “best places to work” poll since such polls first appeared in 1984. The research article cites a Fortune magazine report that Gore’s turnover rate is only 5 percent, which he says is remarkably low for a company of such a size. Over and over again, employees cited Gore’s egalitarian management structure that essentially has no leadership other than what is required by law. Group project leaders emerge based on their product knowledge and skill and are designated by their peers, not by upper levels of management. New employees spend their first months mostly meeting other employees and building relationships, not jumping into production. If there is a corporate structure, Stewart says it is mostly a lattice, not a hierarchy, with new employees guided around the lattice by a “sponsor,” or what more traditional companies would call a mentor. Read the full University News Services article at http://news-releases.uiowa.edu/2009/september/091809stewart-gore-tex.html.
TRANSITIONSRecent deaths
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