Alumni Association | Hawkeye Sports | National News | News Services | Photos | The Foundation | U of I

Mason says UI must ‘honor tradition of excellence’ during installation as 20th president

UI President Sally Mason was installed as the 20th president of the University of Iowa Dec. 9 in a ceremony attended by government officials, dignitaries, university representatives and guests from around the state and nation. “Iowa has a long tradition of excellence, innovation, and world-class achievement,” Mason said in her address. “We must honor that tradition by building upon our strengths. And we must advance that tradition by leading the new world always unfolding before us.” Guest speaker and President Emeritus of Purdue University Martin Jischke, with whom Mason worked as provost before coming to Iowa, called Mason “a leader who has great respect for the thoughts and concerns of all the people around her. She is more than strong enough to make the tough decisions that leadership requires. At the same time, she listens to what people have to say and consults with those whose insight can lead to success.”
More >>

Installation photo gallery: http://www.uiowa.edu/installation/gallery/index.html

Installation video: http://www.uiowa.edu/installation/video/index.html

Season’s greetings from the University of Iowa

The University of Iowa Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble put a little oom-pah-pah into the holiday season Friday, Dec. 14, with its annual “Holiday Tubas” concert on the steps of the UI Old Capitol. The music included a mix of traditional holiday favorites, including "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch," "Jingle Bell Rock" and "Frosty the Snowman," as well as "The Dradle Song." The group also collected toys for needy children on behalf of Toys for Tots. To view an audio slideshow featuring images and music from the concert, visit:
http://news-releases.uiowa.edu/2007/december/holiday-tubas.html

New book features Old Capitol photos, stories and history

The University of Iowa Old Capitol Museum has published a new book, "Facing East and Facing West: Iowa's Old Capitol Museum," filled with stories and photos about the UI's beloved landmark. Through photographs by Tom Langdon and text by Linzee Kull McCray, the book gives a view into Iowa's past, describing Old Capitol rooms in detail and noting the period furnishings and artifacts contained in each room. The book contains 80 photographs, dating from the mid-1800s to the present day. More >>

Old Capitol Museum: http://www.uiowa.edu/~oldcap/

UI research: even today, couples put more emphasis on husband's career

Sociological research has shown that when couples move, the husband's career gets a boost, while the wife's career suffers. A University of Iowa professor investigated the reason behind the phenomenon and discovered that couples tend to put more emphasis on the man's career, even if the wife works full-time and is college-educated. More >>

Department of Sociology: http://www.uiowa.edu/~soc/

New law school career counseling service brings counselor to alumni

A new program from the University of Iowa College of Law provides career counseling services to alumni in the comfort of their own hometowns. Steve Langerud, the law school's associate dean for career services, meets face-to-face with law graduates across Iowa and around the country, helping those who want to re-assess their careers and need help figuring out what to do next. More >>

College of Law: http://www.law.uiowa.edu/

NSF grant funds research on risky decision-making in pre-teens

Researchers at the University of Iowa have secured a $396,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to study risky decision-making among pre-teens. UI Psychology Professor Irwin Levin, co-principal investigator for the project, hopes to identify characteristics of children who become risk-takers. He said identifying children who have difficulty grasping the concept of risk could allow parents and educators to reach out and teach them about the consequences of risks. More >>

Department of Psychology: http://www.psychology.uiowa.edu/

UI Hospitals and Clinics named Center of Excellence for bariatric surgery

University of Iowa Health Care leaders announced today that UI Hospitals and Clinics has been named an American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) Center of Excellence. Faced with clinical evidence that the most experienced and best-run bariatric surgery programs have by far the lowest rates of complications, the ASMBS Centers of Excellence program was created to recognize bariatric surgery centers that perform well and to help surgeons and hospitals continue to improve the quality and safety of care provided. More >>

Department of Surgery: http://www.healthcare.uiowa.edu/Surgery/isaac-samuel.html

Researchers say 'place' affects quality of the water we drink

Two UI researchers recently completed a three-part study, "Economics of Place-based Monitoring under the Safe Drinking Water Act," showing that taking local geography into account would result in testing that is at least as effective as current federal testing, but also less expensive, so that valuable financial and human resources could be used to test for a wider range of contaminants in more communities. More >>

Department of Geography: http://www.uiowa.edu/~geog/

Study: parental physical violence lowers children's standardized test scores

In a study of rural Iowa school children, University of Iowa researchers have found a significant decrease in the test scores of children from households with parental violence. More >>

Department of Occupational and Environmental Health:
http://www.public-health.uiowa.edu/oeh/

University of Iowa Libraries unveil the Iowa Gallery digital art collections

Now you can stroll through the University of Iowa Museum of Art galleries from your desktop, browse works created by Iowa artists for the Daily Palette or search through 40 years of graduate student art online, thanks to a new resource offered by University of Iowa Libraries. More >>
 
Related: UI Libraries launches digital collection of work by 'Ding' Darling
http://news-releases.uiowa.edu/2007/december/120707ding_darling_library.html

The Iowa Digital Library: http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu

UI writers win 2007 National Book Awards in fiction and poetry

The fiction and poetry sections of the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop were both represented when the 2007 National Book Awards were announced Wednesday, Nov. 14, in New York City. Denis Johnson won the fiction award for his monumental Vietnam novel "Tree of Smoke," and Robert Hass was honored for "Time and Materials." More >>

Writers’ Workshop: http://www.uiowa.edu/~iww/

UI doctors drive 50 miles on ice to help newborn
(ABC News, Dec. 12)

Tuesday morning, a 2-pound baby named Dorotea Orgovanyi was born at 6:10 a.m. in Mount Pleasant, Iowa — three months premature and about 50 miles away from desperately needed treatment at University of Iowa Hospitals. The new mother said she hadn't expected to give birth so soon. Nor could she anticipate an ice storm would leave her daughter stranded from lifesaving treatment. Knowing the small community hospital in Henry County didn't have the facilities to treat the preemie, MIKE ACARREGUI and JOHN DAGLE, neonatal doctors at the University of Iowa, took action. Acarregui grabbed a rescue pack and the two doctors drove Acarregui's Audi four-wheel-drive sedan to pick up Dorotea and bring her to Iowa City. Meanwhile, doctors in Mount Pleasant improvised their own resources, rebuilding a warming bed in an ambulance for the baby to use on the trip back to Iowa City. More >>

Department of Pediatrics: http://www.uihealthcare.com/depts/med/pediatrics/index.html

Gray: new strain of cold virus ‘more virulent than average’
(Washington Post, Dec. 11)

Investigators now realize that a new, apparently more virulent form of a virus that usually causes nothing worse than a nasty cold was circulating around the United States. At least 1,035 Americans in four states have been infected so far this year by the virus, known as an adenovirus. Dozens have been hospitalized, many requiring intensive care, and at least 10 have died. Health officials say the virus does not seem to be causing life-threatening illness on a wide scale, and most people who develop colds or flu-like symptoms are at little or no risk. Likewise, most people infected by the suspect adenovirus do not appear to become seriously ill. But the germ appears to be spreading, and investigators are unsure how much of a threat it poses. GREGORY C. GRAY, director of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the University of Iowa, commented that "My gestalt is that it's more virulent than average. The consensus among people who look at adenovirus is this is a particularly virulent strain." More >>

The Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases:
http://www.public-health.uiowa.edu/CEID/

Black calls shopping ‘America’s No. 1 pastime’
(New York Times, Nov. 23)

For many people, the real joy of the holiday season comes from shopping, whether it's getting to the store at 4 a.m. for the best bargains or finding that impossible-to-find holiday toy. The pleasure you feel from every shopping victory is real. Shopping, like any new or exciting experience, activates the brain's reward center, triggering the release of dopamine. That's the same brain chemical released by drug use, gambling and other addictive behaviors. "Most people report that shopping is fun and exciting, and they like seeing new products in the stores," said University of Iowa psychiatry professor DONALD BLACK, who earlier this year wrote a review article about shopping addiction. "The reality is that shopping is America's No. 1 pastime and most people shop because it's enjoyable to them." More >>

Department of Psychiatry: http://www.uihealthcare.com/depts/med/psychiatry/index.htm

Schnoor sees ethanol production goals as unrealistic
(Washington Post, Nov. 22)

Can the government's goals for ethanol fuel be realized? "The president's goal is to have 35 billion gallons of biofuels by 2017, and we're currently at 6 billion gallons. That would mean a huge increase in land for corn," says JERRY SCHNOOR, a University of Iowa professor of civil and environmental engineering. "The environmental constraints are just too great. It's too much nutrients, too much soil loss, too much pesticides. We don't have the land." More >>

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: http://www.cee.engineering.uiowa.edu/

Joffrey Ballet keeps art alumna and costume-designer on her toes
(Daily Herald, Nov. 29)

Deb Schoell of Arlington Heights, Ill. stays nearly as busy as the twirling ballerinas she outfits for the Barrington Youth Dance Ensemble's production of "The Nutcracker." Schoell heads up the wardrobe department designing costumes, sewing them, and making last-minute alterations. The experience helped land her a part-time job this year in the wardrobe department of the Joffrey Ballet. She draws on her training as an art major at the UNIVERSITY OF IOWA, as well as her background in theater, and working at the Hancher Auditorium on the university's Iowa City campus. More >>

School of Art and Art History: http://www.art.uiowa.edu/

The literary life: Old Capitol exhibit celebrates UI's writing heritage

In 1946, a young woman named Flannery from Baldwin County, Georgia, came to the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Originally a journalism student, she soon told then-director Paul Engle her true intentions: "I am a writer." Her thick Georgian accent often kept Engle from understanding a word she said, so she scribbled her end of the conversation on a pad of paper. Although tough-skinned and quick to respond to criticism, she was too shy to read her own stories to the workshop class, so Engle read them for her. A quiet, but undeniable force in Engle's classroom, Flannery O'Connor went on to become one of the most highly revered American authors of all time. The mesmerizing details of the personalities of O'Connor and other world-class writers who spent time in Iowa City, as well as their unforgettable work, await discovery in a new, yearlong exhibit on the lower level of Old Capitol Museum. "A Community of Writers: Creative Writing at the University of Iowa" presents the history, characters, and events behind the development of the UI's legendary writing programs. More >>

Be remarkable profile: former Women's Athletic Director Christine Grant

Christine Grant didn't set out to become a political activist, a civil rights champion, or, at times, the conscience of college athletics. She just wanted to help American girls play sports. "I'm still surprised when I have to convince people that little girls—and big girls—deserve the same opportunities as their brothers," says Grant, former director of women's athletics at The University of Iowa and an emeritus associate professor of health and sport studies. "To some, that's a novel idea even today." More >>

HawkeyeSports.com: http://hawkeyesports.collegesports.com/

UI News Services: http://news.uiowa.edu

UI Website: http://www.uiowa.edu/

UI National News Highlights: http://www.uiowa.edu:80/~ournews/national.html

UI Alumni Association: http://www.iowalum.com

UI Foundation: http://www.uifoundation.org

UI Photos: http://www.uiowa.edu/~urphopix

UI NEWS DIGEST - For University of Iowa news on a daily basis, you are invited to subscribe to the UI NEWS DIGEST by following these instructions:
Point your Web browser at
http://list.uiowa.edu/archives/ui-news.html, click the link that says "Join or leave the list (or change settings)," and follow the instructions. Alternately, you can subscribe via email. To do so:
1. Send your request to mailto:listserv@list.uiowa.edu
2. In the body of the message, write "subscribe ui-news"

@IOWA is a MONTHLY email newsletter of Iowa news summaries prepared through a joint effort of University News Services, the UI Alumni Association, and the UI Foundation.

Editor: Stephen Pradarelli, email: stephen-pradarelli@uiowa.edu
Production: Communications, UI Alumni Association

Subscribe | Unsubscribe | Update My Information | Archives

The University of Iowa Alumni Association,
One West Park Road, Iowa City, Iowa 52246
Phone: 319-335-3294 or 800-469-2586