November 15, 2006

Maynard Dixon—To the Desert Again

A prolific artist and poet who spent his life in search of the heart and spirit of the American West will be profiled in a KUED original documentary Nov. 22 on Channel 7. Maynard Dixon, a successful magazine illustrator and sketch artist in turn-of-the-last-century San Francisco, headed west to find the words and pictures of the real American Desert. Using a unique combination of painting styles, Dixon’s quest resulted in poetry and paintings that are deeply felt reactions and brilliant manipulations of the natural colors and formations that obsessed him for more than 40 years. “He spent his life on a quest to find a way to capture the emotion and experience of being in the West...the sense of heat and space and timelessness,” says documentary producer Nancy Green. “And he succeeded. His paintings depict the harshness, the color, and the angularity of the Desert Southwest.”

Critics and historians say Dixon captures the land and people in his paintings with considerable detail and spirit. His vision is often called “matchless,” and his work was influenced by a social and geographic isolation from the mainstream. “From the beginning Dixon was different: an authentic, iconoclastic, self-created individual,” says Green. “He refused to join any one school of art; instead, he created his own distinctive style.”

Maynard Dixon: To the Desert Again airs on KUED 7 on Nov. 22 at 8:00 p.m.

—Jim Thalman

Cross-Fertilizing for Faculty

Ever wonder who on campus is doing research on religion in politics? Or folk medicine? How about environmental ethics? A new faculty research interest database provides the answers. Designed to connect faculty across campus, it is hoped this will spark innovative research and identify potential collaborators—and it’s a lot of fun.

“The need for such information has generated a larger conversation about how we manage data,” says Heidi Camp, assistant dean in the College of Humanities. “This database is just a first step. Ultimately it will be rolled into a more sophisticated program that includes managing data for a variety of purposes.” Using a framework already in place allowed this preliminary database to be built inexpensively and quickly—within about two weeks. “We’ve been delighted with the outcome,” says Camp.

Faculty on main campus were invited to enter their research interest data (a process that took most of them less than 15 minutes). “Within the first week we had more than 700 faculty members in the database,” says Camp, “and the number is growing every day.”

To try it out, log on to http://www.hum.utah.edu/risearch, then search by faculty name, department/college, or research keywords. If you use a keyword (for example, “ethics”), all faculty members who have included that word as a keyword for their research will be listed as well as a 200-word research statement. The small red number in parenthesis indicates the number of faculty members in the database who have identified that same keyword. Click on the number to get a list of those faculty members. “It’s cool—it gives a good cross section and it addresses a frustration I’ve heard from faculty for the past three years,” adds Camp.

For more information, contact Heidi Camp at heidi.camp@utah.edu or 581-6214.

Cream the Cougars!

Football is one thing, survival quite another. It’s time for the annual Utah/BYU Food Drive, and while winning on the football field is nice, winning in the food drive can be a lifesaver, literally. From Nov. 13-25, let’s kick butt for Utah’s hungry. Here’s how:

• Donate cans and other nonperishable food items to the Alumni House at 155 South Central Campus Drive.
• At Del Taco locations donate $1 at the cashier and choose a Utah “U” for the restaurant to display.
• Bring donations (food, cash, or check) to the Utah-BYU game on Nov. 25 at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
• At the U Campus Store, buy a Utah “U” for $1 or make a monetary donation.
• Make a monetary donation online at www.alumni.utah.edu or in person at the Alumni House.

For more information, call 581-6995 or go to www.alumni.utah.edu.

—Randy Hanskat

FYI Mystery Photo Contest!
What is it? Where is it on campus?

Photo by Roger Tuttle

Send your answer (be specific!) to FYI@ucomm.utah.edu by noon on Thursday, Nov. 16 for a chance to win a ski or snowboard weekend rental for two from Campus Recreation Services.

The winner will be randomly selected from the pool of those submitting the correct answer. The winner will be listed in the next FYI News due out Dec. 6.

Thanks to Campus Recreation Services for providing the prize!

This contest is open to U of U faculty and staff only.

Applause Please!

• Kennedy Foundation scholarship will further “Olpin Years” research
New information links A. Ray Olpin to founding of the Peace Corps
In researching and writing the history of the A. Ray Olpin years (1946-1964) at the University of Utah, Anne P. Peterson discovered links between the U of U and the founding of the Peace Corps. In 1953 President Olpin traveled to Japan, Australia, and New Zealand as a U.S. State Department consultant. Upon his return he wrote and distributed throughout Washington, D.C. a plan for training students for volunteer overseas service—the very description of what was later founded as the Peace Corps.

The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation has awarded Peterson the Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. fellowship to support her research and use of the manuscript holdings of the Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston. The book on the Olpin years is scheduled for publication by the University of Utah Press.

Additional information about the JFK library and fellowship is available here.

• ASUU Tutoring Center earns certification
The ASUU Tutoring Center recently received certification by the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA), making it one of 1,000 tutor training programs worldwide to gain the certification. This means that motivated, skilled, and professionally trained tutors are available to U students at a very low cost. CRLA is an association of student-oriented professionals in the fields of reading, learning assistance, developmental education, and tutorial services aimed at the college/adult level. With CRLA certification, the tutoring center can now award CRLA certificates to individual tutors, which provides them with transferable skills recognized at universities and colleges nationwide. For more information, visit www.sa.utah.edu, send email to thatch@sa.utah.edu or call 581-3208.

Bulletin Board

• Sky-gazing
There’s something new on the roof of the South Physics Building—a new 14” Meade LX200 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope—making a total of six working telescopes ranging from 10” to 14.” (The old 12” telescope has been moved to the deck and is still available for observations.) Weekly star parties (free) are still held each clear Wednesday night. In addition, the Department of Physics is partnering with the Utah Museum of Natural History to offer a new monthly solar party on the first Monday night of each month at around 7:30 p.m. A 10-minute lecture on astronomy will precede the star-gazing. Free tours for scout groups are still available, too. Call 581-6901 to schedule a tour.

• Insider Tours coming to U
A new way to showcase the U will soon be available to the broader community—including alumni, friends, donors, community leaders, public education teachers and administrators, service organizations, families, and prospective students. “Insider” tours will provide an up-close and personal look at cutting edge research and outstanding academic programs. Tour guests will experience the opportunities available at Utah’s flagship institution by visiting classes, state-of-the-art facilities, and research labs. They’ll also meet professors, researchers, administrators, and students. To learn more about insider tours and dates, to register a site for a visit, or to suggest participants, contact Nancy Lyon at 587-7684 or nancy.lyon@utah.edu.

• Last call for gift ideas from campus
In its Dec. 6 issue, FYI News will include a list of campus groups who are collecting donations of food, clothes, or books or are offering holiday gifts for sale. If you are involved in these efforts, send a one-sentence description and contact information to fyi@ucomm.utah.edu by Nov. 27.

• “Maintain, Don’t Gain”—Stay healthy over the holidays!
PEAK Academy is offering a weight management program for the holidays. The goal is not to lose weight, but to maintain your current weight from Thanksgiving until New Year’s. For a $30 enrollment fee, participants receive a pedometer to measure activity level and bi-weekly emails with healthy eating, stress management, and physical activity tips. Last year, over 90 percent of the participants maintained or lost weight with this program. For more information, call 585-7325 or visit www.uuhsc.utah.edu/peak.

• From Risk & Insurance Management: Regarding small (personal) aircraft
Scheduled commercial flights are the most closely regulated and the safest form of air travel based on statistical experience. Any decision to approve the operation of privately-owned aircraft by employees or to allow U employees or students to travel in privately-owned aircraft for U business is the responsibility of the cognizant dean, director or department head. If a department head considers it safe and desirable to allow its employees, students or representatives to use a small aircraft on U business, then the department head should also ensure that the department follows the Risk & Insurance Management guidelines here. Questions? Contact Risk & Insurance Management at 581-5590.

• Show Thanks and Shut Down
The Thanksgiving break presents an opportunity to conserve energy on campus. You can help by doing the following:
• Fully shut down personal computers (as approved by your IT manager).
• Unplug coffee pots, space heaters and personal appliances.
• Close (and lock) windows.
• Uncover blocked heating vents. (Please report overheating problems.)
• If you have to come in over the break, bring a sweater.
If you have comments, questions, suggestions, or concerns, contact Bianca Shama, at 585-1171 or Bianca.Shama@fm.utah.edu. And keep up the good work!

• Apartments for rent
University Student Apartments has several fully-furnished one, two, and three bedroom apartments available to faculty and staff on a month to month lease. The units are furnished with couches, beds, dressers, linens, dishes, TV, microwave, and other basic supplies and the rental rate includes all utilities, cable television, local phone, and high speed Internet. Cleaning services are not provided. Several units are available. For more information, see www.apartments.utah.edu.

Upcoming on Campus...

• Debate on mandatory minimum sentencing
On Monday, Nov. 27 at 6:30 p.m. at the Quinney College of Law, Erik Luna, a professor at the law school, and Brett Tolman, U.S. Attorney for Utah, will debate the issue of federal mandatory minimum sentencing.

• Open House for new Alzheimer’s center— Don’t forget!
Living with Alzheimer's disease and dementia is tough. But education and new advances in clinical care and research can mean brighter days for patients and caregivers. This year marks 100 years of progress and research in Alzheimer’s Disease. Learn about local resources, care options, and the latest research at an open house celebrating the formal opening of University Health Care’s Center for Alzheimer’s Care, Imaging and Research on Wednesday, Nov. 29 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at 720 Arapeen Way in Research Park.

Also on the 29th, the Utah Alzheimer’s Association’s annual remembrance ceremony, honoring those whose lives have been affected by dementia, will be held one hour prior to the open house, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m., at Red Butte Garden’s Orangerie.

For details and a map to the Alzheimer’s center, see http://www.utahmemory.org.

• The politics and science of climate change
Kevin Trenberth, head of the Climate Analysis Section at the National Center for Atmospheric Research will discuss observed changes in climate, their causes, and what it means on Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 12 noon at the college of law. Free pizza.

• Combined Choir Concert
In the first collaboration of its kind, the choirs of Utah State University, Weber State University, and Utah Valley State College will join the U of U Choir for a combined show choir of 200 voices in a program on Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 7:30 p.m. in Libby Gardner Hall. The singers will perform holiday music accompanied by the U’s Harp Ensemble and the pipe organ in Libby Gardner Hall. Tickets are available at Kingsbury Hall or by calling 581-7100.

Calls for Papers

• Pete Suazo Social Justice Awards—
due Dec. 1
The College of Social Work, with support from the Suazo family, invites nominations for the sixth annual Pete Suazo Social Justice Awards, which honor the life of the late state senator. “Pete was a voice for the voiceless, a champion for the underdog, and a man of honor,” says Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff. “He did not weigh issues based on race, religion, or political affiliation. He would take on any cause he thought was right.” Nominees for the award may be individuals, programs, or organizations that have shown initiative and leadership in furthering the cause of social and economic justice. Nominations are due Friday, Dec. 1. An awards event will be held March 2. Nomination information is available at www.socwk.utah.edu/PeteSuazo/index.asp. Questions? Contact Farriña Coulam at farrina.coulam@socwk.utah.edu or 581-4428.

• Phi Kappa Phi Scholarships—due Feb. 2
Applications for the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society Scholar of Promise Award and the Graduate Fellowship Award are available at www.sa.utah.edu/phikappa and are due Feb. 2. The Scholar of Promise Award is $1,500 for undergraduate students to study at the U in fall 2007. Students must have completed at least 30 credit hours and have at least a 3.5 GPA. The Graduate Fellowship award winner will receive $1,500 from the U chapter and will be the U’s nominee for either a $5,000 fellowship or a $2,000 award in a national competition. For more information, contact Lori McDonald at lmcdonald@sa.utah.edu or 581-8061.

• Call for Papers on Endangered Languages and Cultures of Native America—due Jan. 16
The Smithsonian Institution (Department of Anthropology of the National Museum of Natural History) and the U’s Center for American Indian Languages (CAIL) are co-sponsoring the third annual Conference on Endangered Languages and Cultures of Native America, April 13-15, 2007 at the University of Utah. Papers and abstracts for posters are invited on any aspect of endangered Native American languages, especially documentation or revitalization. Native Americans are encouraged to participate. Results will be announced by Jan. 30. For more information, contact Nancy Garcia at 587-0720 or nancy.garcia@utah.edu.

• U of U Staff Scholarships—Due Dec. 5
Four $500 scholarships are awarded each year—two for spring semester and two for fall semester.
Applications are now available for spring semester 2007 awards. The scholarship provides an excellent opportunity for staff to take a class, attend a conference or workshop, or otherwise continue their education. Classes may be taken on-campus or at off-campus locations.

To be considered, each U staff applicant must meet the following criteria:
• Currently working in a 75 percent FTE (30 hours per week) or greater position.
• Has worked for the U of U in a 75 percent FTE or greater benefited position for the past consecutive two years.
• May apply one time per academic year (please see deadlines posted each semester). Individuals may receive a scholarship once per academic year, in fairness to all who may submit their applications.
• Current Staff Council members are not eligible.

Applications are available at http://www.utah.edu/staffcouncil and are due by 5 p.m. Dec. 5. For more information, contact Jennifer Henry at 581-6649, or Jennifer.Henry@fm.utah.edu.

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