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News in Brief
AROUND CAMPUSUniversity outlines plan for temporarily reducing retirement contributions Effective with the payroll period beginning on Nov. 1, 2009, and ending with the payroll period ending on June 30, 2011, The University of Iowa will reduce retirement contributions to Defined Contribution Retirement Plans by 20 percent, from 10 percent to 8 percent. The temporary reduction, authorized by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, is in response to Governor Chet Culver’s order reducing current appropriations to state agencies, institutions, and boards by 10 percent. Stay up-to-date on UI budget issues—visit http://budget.uiowa.edu.
W-2 forms will be available on Employee Self Service web site Once again, the University of Iowa W-2 forms will be available on the HR Employee Self Service web site (http://hris.uiowa.edu/selfservice). The IRS allows for electronic delivery of W-2 forms if permission is given. To do this, select “Stop Paper Mailings” under the general section on the Personal tab on the HR Self Service site. The 2009 W-2 forms will be available mid- to late-January 2010, and by electing electronic delivery you will have access to your form approximately one week before the forms are mailed. For more information, refer to the Payroll Office web site, www.uiowa.edu/hr/payroll.
UI researchers win 11 prestigious NIH Challenge Grants University of Iowa researchers recently received 11 prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) Challenge Grants to investigate areas of inquiry accorded the highest priority by the NIH. Funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the grants focus on specific knowledge gaps, scientific opportunities, new technologies, data generation, or research methods that would benefit from financial support to rapidly and significantly advance fields of knowledge. “These highly selective awards continue to demonstrate the extraordinary competitiveness of our outstanding faculty who are doing cutting-edge research,” says Jordan Cohen, UI interim vice president for research and economic development. One example of an NIH Challenge Grant received by the University is a $406,841 grant to Carolyn Brown and Christopher Turner, both professors in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, to help improve hearing for some of the more than 28 million Americans who suffer from some degree of hearing loss. The goal is to optimize the combined use of electric and acoustic hearing by varying the way a hearing aid and/or a new type of cochlear implant—designed to preserve acoustic low frequencies—are programmed. Also, a $457,878 grant to Peter Damiano, director of the UI Public Policy Center and the center’s Health Policy Research Program and professor in the College of Dentistry, will explore the disparities in needs, costs, and behavior—taking into account racial, social, economic, and other differences—that influence the timing of children’s first preventive dental visit. The goal is to design an intervention with parents and providers to encourage the effective timing of children’s first preventive dental visit. Other NIH Challenge Grant recipients are:
The complete list of grants, as well as abstracts describing all funded projects, can be viewed at https://research.uiowa.edu/arra.
University of Iowa creative writing programs are ranked No. 1 The University of Iowa creative writing programs in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction were individually and collectively ranked No. 1 in the United States in the Master of Fine Arts “Top Fifty” list in Poets & Writers magazine. View the “Top 50” list at www.pw.org/content/2010_mfa_rankings_top_fifty_0. The list was compiled on the basis of a poll of more than 500 MFA current and prospective MFA applicants between October 2008 and April 2009.
November issue of Iowa Insights podcast now available The November 2009 edition of Iowa Insights, a monthly podcast produced by the University of Iowa Office of University Relations, focuses on the use of art to inspire incarcerated women and teens, purchasing child-safe products, and bringing sustainability to small towns in Iowa. Rachel Marie-Crane Williams, an associate professor of art, talks about how she uses art classes to inspire incarcerated women and teens. Pam Hoogerwerf of the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital discusses the Safety Store, a hospital resource that offers low-cost child safety products and guidance on how to use them. And Paul Hanley, associate professor of urban and regional planning, talks about his graduate students, who bring sustainability to small-town Iowa through an educational outreach project. More information on Iowa Insights can be found at http://news.uiowa.edu/iowa-insights.
Annual UI Band Extravaganza will be held Nov. 9 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena The University of Iowa Band Extravaganza, presented by the UI School of Music, will be performed at 7:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 9, in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. This year’s performers will be the Symphony Band, under the direction of Richard Mark Heidel; the Johnson County Landmark (JCL) jazz big band, under John Rapson, UI director of jazz studies; and the Hawkeye Marching Band, under Kevin Kastens. Tickets for the Band Extravaganza are $5. Advance tickets may be ordered online at https://hbotix.hancher.uiowa.edu/Online.
Hancher adds Parker Quartet to season for Nov. 17 performances A new addition to the Hancher season provides chamber music lovers the opportunity to hear an award-winning string quartet at a special price. The Parker Quartet will perform at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 17, at Zion Lutheran Church, 310 North Johnson Street in Iowa City. Tickets are $10 and are available through the Hancher Auditorium box office. The Parker Quartet won the 2005 Concert Artists Guild Competition, captured first prize and the Mozart Prize at the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition, and has recently performed in many great halls, including Lincoln Center, Wolf Trap, Ravinia, and Carnegie Hall. The Parker Quartet also received the prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award in January of this year, an honor the ensemble will carry through the 2010–11 season. The award honors and promotes a string quartet on the rise whose artistry suggests that a major career is under way. An anonymous jury selects the honored quartet, and the award is presented by Chamber Music America. The evening’s program will include music by Haydn, Bartók, and Mendelssohn. Prior to the evening concert, the Parker Quartet will perform from 12:30 to 1 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 17, in the John Colloton Pavilion atrium of University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. That performance, which is free and open to the public, is presented in collaboration with UIHC’s Project Art.
International Programs launches new television and radio program Worldways International Programs at The University of Iowa will inaugurate a new monthly television and radio series called Worldways from 5 to 7 p.m., Friday, Nov. 13, in the Senate Chamber of Old Capitol. Program host Joan Kjaer, familiar to Iowans from her public radio series Know the Score, will explore topics that are international in scope and central to people’s understanding of how individuals fit into the global landscape. The programs will take place before a live audience one Friday a month and will be recorded for later broadcast over UITV and KRUI-89.7FM. Live streaming of the programs will also be available at the International Programs’ web site at http://international.uiowa.edu. All programs are free and open to the public. The Nov. 13 Worldways program will coincide with the 10th anniversary celebration of the UI Center for Human Rights and will focus on human rights issues. Kjaer’s guests will include Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights and recipient of the 2009 Courage of Conviction Award from the UICHR, in conversation with former UICHR director Burns Weston about current international human rights issues. There also will be a tribute to Dr. Ignacio Ponseti and his groundbreaking work to develop a non-surgical correction for club foot; a discussion of the Philippine Reservation at the 1904 World’s Fair; a conversation with young human rights professionals about their work in areas such as human trafficking, immigration, and child labor; and a live performance of “Songs of War” by UI music faculty Stephen Swanson and David Gompper. Read the full University News Services release at http://news-releases.uiowa.edu/2009/november/110509worldways.html.
UI Chamber Orchestra to perform work-in-progress by UI alumnus Michael Cash The University of Iowa Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of William LaRue Jones, will perform works by UI alumnus Michael Cash and Camille Saint-Saëns at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 15, in the Second Floor Ballroom of the Iowa Memorial Union. The program will include Cash’s “The Dragon with the Three Golden Feathers” for orchestra with narrator, and the ever-popular “Carnival of the Animals” by Saint-Saëns, featuring faculty pianists Rene Lecuona and Alan Huckleberry. “The Dragon with the Three Golden Feathers,” in development as a full-length animation with the support of the Iowa Arts Council, features narrator Eric Forsythe, a faculty member in the UI Department of Theatre Arts; Monica Leo of the Eulenspeigel Puppet Theatre; and Kate Carol of Kate Carol and Company Dance. The project will be completed in 2010. Cash, who received his MA in music composition from the UI School of Music, has collaborated on numerous dance and theater productions at the University, including Chekhov’s Three Sisters and Uncontrollable Mystery for the UI Theatres Mainstage, “Spiritual Machine” for a department of dance thesis concert, “Ark” by dance faculty member Charlotte Adams, and “Black” by UI dance alumnus and former faculty member Jeffery Bullock.
Last UI public lecture celebrating International Year of Astronomy set for Nov. 11 The last lecture in the University of Iowa series of free, public talks celebrating the International Year of Astronomy 2009 will be held from 7 to 8 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 11, when Randall L. McEntaffer, assistant professor in the UI Department of Physics and Astronomy, speaks on “Supernovae: Stars that Explode,” in lecture room 2 of Van Allen Hall. Given by faculty and staff in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Department of Physics and Astronomy, the lectures are aimed at a non-scientific, family audience and include an informal discussion period. For more information, see http://www.physics.uiowa.edu/IYA2009 or contact the Department of Physics and Astronomy in advance at 319-335-1688.
Iowa City Book Festival announces 2010 date The Iowa City Book Festival, a celebration of books, reading, and writing presented by the University of Iowa Libraries, will be held Saturday, July 17, 2010. Located in Gibson Square outside the Main Library’s south entrance on the UI campus, the festival will include a mix of booksellers, a small music stage, children’s activities, food vendors, book arts demonstrations, readings, and panel discussions. The planning committee already has begun work on next summer’s festivities. Members of the committee include Kristi Bontrager and Greg Prickman from the UI Libraries as festival codirectors; Tim Barrett, UI Center for the Book, hands-on activities; Chris Clark, UI Libraries, music coordinator; Debb Green, Iowa City Public Library, kids’ programming; Jim McCoy, UI Press, book vendors and programming; Lisa McDaniels, UI Libraries, food vendors and programming; Allison Means, UI Press, public relations and marketing; and Jan Weissmiller, Prairie Lights Books, programming. To see photos from the 2009 festival and to keep current on planning for 2010, see www.iowacitybookfestival.org.
Improving Our Workplace Award nominations sought Do you know a staff member or a team whose efforts have made a lasting difference at the University? Here is an opportunity to recognize the exceptional value they have provided in your area. Nominate them for the Improving Our Workplace Award (IOWA), a campuswide recognition program. Nomination forms are available at www.uiowa.edu/hr/iowa; contact Nancy Noyer at 319-335-0560 or nancy-noyer@uiowa.edu for assistance. The deadline for fall submissions is Nov. 16.
Proposals sought for Catalyst Award Seed Grants The Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity has announced a call for proposals for the Catalyst Award Seed Grant, which targets creative projects that enhance and encourage the diversity goals of The Iowa Promise, The University of Iowa’s five-year strategic plan. Grants of up to $1,000 are available to UI faculty, staff, and students as seed money for start-up projects or programs that have potential sustainability, as well as short-term projects that demonstrate significance and impact. Collaborative grant proposals are sought that support projects and/or programs that advance cross-cultural understanding, strengthen positive intergroup relations, and promote a welcoming learning, living, and working environment. Applications are due to the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity, 202 Jessup Hall, by 5 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 1. Further information can be obtained at www.uiowa.edu/~eod, or by phone at 319-335-0705 (voice) or 319-335-0697 (text).
See which 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 study reveals second pathway to feeling your heartbeat A new study suggests that the inner sense of our cardiovascular state, our “interoceptive awareness” of the heart pounding, relies on two independent pathways, contrary to what had been asserted by prominent researchers. The University of Iowa study was published online this week in the journal Nature Neuroscience by researchers in the department of neurology in the Carver College of Medicine and the graduate programs in neuroscience and psychology. The researchers found that, in addition to a pathway involving the insular cortex of the brain—the target of most recent research on interoception—an additional pathway contributing to feeling your own heartbeat exists. The second pathway goes from fibers in the skin to most likely the somatosensory cortex, a part of the brain involved in mapping the outside of the body and the sense of posture. The UI team also confirmed the widely held belief by researchers that the insula and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) regions of the brain are important, but not necessary, for a person to feel his or her own heartbeat. The insula helps with such higher-order functions as self-awareness, while the ACC is believed to regulate heart rate. Read the full University News Services release at http://news-releases.uiowa.edu/2009/november/110209heartbeat.html.
UI researchers studying value of Executive MBA degree University of Iowa researchers hope their new study will determine if the Executive MBA degree pays off for its graduates and their employers. “We want to know if the two years a student spends in an EMBA program reflect a positive value on their and their employers’ investments,” says Amy Colbert, an assistant professor of management and organizations in the Tippie College of Business who is leading the study with Greg Stewart, also a Tippie professor of management and organizations. Colbert and Stewart have begun collecting career data from current Tippie EMBA students to determine their present salaries and job levels as they enter the program. They will follow up with students upon graduation in two years, and again several years later to see what kind of long-term impact the EMBA had on their careers. Executive MBA programs are management education programs in which students take one class at a time for one or two days a week, often on a weekend. The students are usually referred to the program by their employers, who see them as future managerial or executive-level talent, and who frequently pay all or part of the tuition as part of their training.
TRANSITIONSRecent deaths
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