The University and the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO), the union representing graduate student instructors and staff assistants, are actively involved in negotiations on a new contract. The previous three-year contract expires Friday (Feb.1). “We are hopeful that the negotiations will proceed efficiently and effectively and provide an agreement before the expiration date,” says Dan Gamble, the University’s chief negotiator. “If an agreement is not reached by that time, we will seek an extension.”
University bargainers have met 17 times in negotiation sessions with GEO since Oct. 30. The teams have been meeting two evenings a week, and a number of proposals and counterproposals have been exchanged.
The University has created a web site with background information about graduate student instructors and staff assistants, along with regular updates on the negotiations, at www.umich.edu/~urel/gsi-sa/. The GEO Web site is at http://www.umich.edu/~umgeo/home.html.
Holly Wardlow, professor of anthropology, and of community and behavioral health at the University of Iowa, will present “Eating Her Own Vagina: Problematizing Prostitution and Sex Work in Papua New Guinea” noon–1:30 p.m. Feb. 4 in Rm. 2239, Lane Hall. Wardlow’s articles have appeared in “Medical Anthropology Quarterly,” the “Journal for the Royal Anthropological Institutes” and “Visual Anthropology Review.”
For more information, call (734) 764-2047.
The Michigan League will host Beach Party, an open house for the League, 6 p.m.–midnight Jan. 31. Caricatures, card and palm reading, photo frames decoration and handwriting analysis will be held 6–8 p.m. on the first floor. Rock comedian Mark Eddie will give a comedy show at 8:15 p.m. in the League Ballroom. Live Music will follow with 58 Greene and the Friars performing at 9:30 p.m., and Oblivion and Donkey Punch at 10 p.m., both in the League Underground.
Events are sponsored by Michigan League Programming. For more information, call (734) 763-4652, or send e-mail to progleague@umich.edu.
Exhibits of building ecology projects by Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning students will be on display 1–4 p.m. Feb. 2–3 at the James D. Reader, Jr. Urban Environmental Education Center, located at the Washington Heights entrance of the Nichols Arboretum.
The projects are from a class taught by Jong-Jin Kim, associate professor of architecture. Students worked in teams to create designs for the Nichols Arboretum maintenance area. The designs feature alternative building construction and energy approaches.
For more information, call (734) 998-9541.
Noted screenwriter, author and poet, Sherman Alexie, will make a presentation for the MLK symposium at 8 p.m. Feb. 5 in the Michigan Union Ballroom. Alexie’s topic will be “Killing Indians: Myths, Lies, and Exaggerations.”
Alexie wrote the screenplay and produced the feature film “Smoke Signals,” based on his book, “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.”
The event is sponsored by the IT Central Services, the Law Library, School of Information, the University Library and the Office of Academic and Multicultural Initiatives.
The Friends of the Michigan League will present “The Importance of Being Ernest” 6:30 p.m. Feb. 15, 16 and 17 in the Hussey Room on the second floor of the League. Nancy Heusel of Ann Arbor directs this Oscar Wilde comedy.
Tickets are available for the Feb. 15 and 16 shows—Feb. 17 is sold out. Tickets for dinner and the performance are $50. There is a dessert performance at 7 p.m. Feb. 14, for which tickets are $22.50 and $15 for students.
For more information, call the Michigan League Friends Office at (734) 647-7463, or send e-mail to mlfriends@umich.edu.
The University has been awarded a grant for $860,000 from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support post-doctoral fellowships focusing on the use of the University’s research collections. With the grant, and $140,000 in matching funds from the Office of the University’s Provost, a “public goods” program that will offer both junior and senior postdoctoral fellowships, will be instituted for a four-year term.
The program is intended to promote the teaching of undergraduate students through the use of research resources offered by the University’s libraries. It will draw on the special collections and holdings of the Bentley Historical Library Michigan history collection, the Clements Library of early Americana, and the University Library’s rich collections.
The Mellon grant will provide for a mix of junior and senior fellowships for the program each year. Scholars are invited to apply for the fellowships, which will begin Fall 2002.
For more information, call (734) 764-3482 or send e-mail to pgcfellowships@umich.edu Eligibility guidelines, deadlines for application
The Natural Areas at U-M-Dearborn have been recognized by the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) for management of wildlife habitat and efforts in environmental education. The Natural Areas site is one of 288 worldwide to be certified by the WHC’s corporate wildlife habitat certification program. In approving sites, WHC looks for a progressive environmental stewardship policy, conducts inventories of the site’s wildlife and schedules an on-site visit.
The Natural Areas include 70 acres and is used by students at U-M-Dearborn, Henry Ford Community College and Wayne State University for ecological and aesthetic studies.
The College of Engineering begins a new master’s degree program in integrated microsytems in winter term 2002. The program offers an understanding of wireless integrated microsystems (WIMS) and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). WIMS and MEMS are two rapidly growing interdisciplinary fields that are expected to touch nearly every aspect of life in the future.
For more information, contact the Interpro Office at (734) 763-0480, or send e-mail to hek@umich.edu
Funds are available for research in bioinformatics. Collaborative research, widely applicable methods and global approaches will be highly regarded in applications. Eligible investigators include regular University instructional and research-track faculty, and Pfizer employees who are collaborating with a University investigator. Awards of up to $75,000 will be made for a period of one year.
Applications must be submitted by March 1. Award announcements will be made April 1, and funding will begin June 1. For more information, application materials and detailed instructions, visit the Web at www.bioinformatics.med.umich.edu, or contact Michelle Overhosler, (734) 615-5510 or moverhosler@umich.edu.
John Kaplan, former executive vice president of Ford Motor Land Services Corporation and former vice president at Ford Europe, has been named the first executive-in-residence of the School of Management at U-M–Dearborn. In his new position, Kaplan will serve as an adviser to faculty for curriculum and course content and help students with career planning. He also will develop content for programs, serve as an instructor and lecturer for the School of Management, help recruit new faculty members, and raise funds for various programs.
Pierpont Commons is offering ‘Uncommon’ courses for Winter 2002. Among these non-credit courses are Scottish country dancing, CPR/First Aid, Yoga, Tae Kwon Do, and bartending/mocktail training. Times, locations, and prices vary per class.
Registrations will be accepted until 5 p.m. on the day of the first class. For more information or to register, call (734) 647-6838, or visit the Arts and Programs office at Pierpont Commons.
The Michigan League is offering Creative Arts workshops for winter 2002. Individuals can choose from knitting, portrait drawing, charcoal drawing, crocheting and watercolor monotype printmaking. Classes are $15 each plus the price of materials. Register in person or by mail at the Michigan League Programming Office. Registration forms are available at the Michigan League information rack (1st floor), the Central Campus Information Center at the Michigan Union and the North Campus Information Center at Pierpont
Commons.
The Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center (SAPAC) is currently forming support groups for survivors of sexual assault. General groups are open to all survivors. The Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Affairs (LGBTA) is collaborating with SAPAC to form a support group specialized for lesbians, bisexual and transgendered women. All services are free and strictly confidential. For more information, call (734) 998-9368 by Jan. 31.
U-Move is offering a variety of classes, from cardioboxing to water aerobics, for the Winter 2002 term. Interested individuals can register for classes 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m. weekdays in Room 1771, Central Campus Recreation Bldg. For more information, contact the U-Move Fitness Office, (734) 764-1342.
U-M-Dearborn is looking for volunteer mentors for its one-day program, “Women on the Move—College is an Option!” scheduled 8 a.m.–3:30 p.m. March 21 on the U-M-Deaborn Campus. Mentors will help women to apply for college, register for classes and apply for financial aid and scholarships. Brenda Lawrence, mayor of Southfield, Mich., will be the event’s keynote speaker.
To volunteer as a mentor, call Patricia Schlaff (313) 593-5353. For more information, contact Nancy Lemkie (313) 593-5553.
Jeffrey Swartz, president and CEO of the Timberland Company, will present “Corporate Social Responsibility: Impacting the Bottom Line” at 4:30 p.m. Jan. 30 in Hale Auditorium. The event kicks off the Business School Dean’s Speaker Series.
Future speakers include:
1 p.m. Feb. 11 in Room 1840 of the Educational Conference Center, Social Work Bldg. Strickland is the founder of the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild, as well as president and CEO of Manchester Bidwell Corporation.
For more information on the speaker series, contact Charlene Fluder, cfluder@umich or (734) 763-4214.
The 2001–02 Environmental Science, Engineering, and Policy in the 21st Century (ESEP-21) seminar series continues with Clayton Rugh’s presentation of “Biotechnical and Ecological Strategies for Improvement of Phytoremediation” 4–5 p.m. Feb. 1 in Room 1017, Dow Bldg. Rugh is the director of the Phytoremediation Research Lab in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences at Michigan State University.
For more information, visit the Web at www.engin.umich.edu/soc/greenpeas/esepseminar.html.
“Understanding women with attention deficit disorder,” presented by psychotherapist and author Sari Solden, will be the topic noon-1:30 p.m. Jan. 31 at the Center for the Education of Women (CEW) at 330 E. Liberty St.
This free, public, brown bag presentation examines common challenges of women with Attention Deficit, Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with a particular focus on students.
For more information, call (734) 998-7080.
Meri Dembrow, owner of Ultra Consult, will present “When Money is Tight and the Kids Want It All” noon–1:30 p.m. Jan. 29 at the Michigan Room of the Michigan League. Dembrow will offer practical options for parents grappling with their children’s wants during the current recession. Co-sponsors of this free, public event are the Center for the Education of Women and the Work/Life Resources Center. For more information, call (734) 998-6203.