The University Record, February 15, 1999
1998 Health Care and Dependent Care Reimbursement Account participants can still file claims and receive reimbursement for eligible expenses incurred in 1998. 1998 claims received at the Benefits Office by March 31 will be reimbursed on a pre-tax basis; and 1998 claims received at the Benefits Office between April 1 and Aug. 31 will be reimbursed on an after-tax basis.
Any balances remaining in 1998 accounts as of Sept. 1 will be forfeited in accordance with IRS regulations.
To ensure that all eligible claims are completed prior to March 31, you are encouraged to submit all 1998 expenses by Feb. 28, to allow sufficient time to correct documentation, if necessary. This becomes much more important if you submit all your expenses once each year. To speed the process, please check the instructions on the reverse of the reimbursement request form to be sure all necessary information is provided.
Benefits representatives can review your documentation and answer your questions prior to submission of claims. This is especially important for 1998 claims submitted in March 1999.
When filing claims for 1998 expenses, 1998 or 1999 forms can be used. Forms are available on the Benefits Web site at www.umich.edu/~benefits/, or from any Benefits Office. If you have any questions, contact the Benefits Office most convenient to you: Central Campus, (734) 763-1214; Medical Campus, (734) 764-6584; Flint Campus, (810) 766-6845; or Dearborn Campus, (313) 593-5192.
The Regents will begin their monthly meeting at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 18 in the Regents’ Room, Fleming Administration Bldg.
Provost Nancy Cantor will speak on “Recruiting and Retaining a First-Rate Faculty.”
The public comments session will begin at 4 p.m. University members and others may address their comments to the Regents at this session. Those wishing to sign up should send e-mail to public.comments@umich.edu or call 763-5553.
The meeting will resume at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 19 for completion of the agenda.
“Caring for Aging Relatives,” a series from the Geriatrics Center Turner Clinic, will be held 6–8 p.m. March 10–April 14 in Room 1139, Cancer/Geriatrics Center Bldg. Topics include caregiver’s roles, physical aspects of aging, Medicare and Medicaid, legal issues, depression and dementia, substance abuse, community resources and nursing homes, and planning for the future. To register, $30 per person, $50 per couple, contact Mollie, Tiffany or Laura, 764-2556. Fees for M-CARE members are $15 per person, $25 per couple. Scholarships are available. The deadline to register is March 3.
Reimbursement of the premium cost of Medicare Part B, which the University provides as a benefit to its retirees and their eligible spouses, has increased. Reimbursement checks are mailed quarterly, on the last work day of April, July, October and January. Each check covers the prior three months. For retirees receiving Social Security, the Medicare Part B premium is deducted from Social Security payments.
Individuals, who retired prior to Jan. 1, 1970, receive full reimbursement—$45.50 per month or $136.50 per quarter. Those who retired after Jan. 1, 1970, receive approximately 70 percent reimbursement—$31.70 per month or $95.10 per quarter. To arrange direct deposit of funds, contact Payroll at 764-8250.
The Senate Assembly will meet at 3:15 p.m. today (Feb. 15) in Rackham Amphitheater. Fred Morrison, University of Minnesota, will present “Tenure Wars—An Account of the Controversy at Minnesota” at 3:30 p.m.
The University has launched a search for a chief investment officer who will report to Robert Kasdin, executive vice president and chief financial officer. Responsibilities of the individual filling the new position include developing investment policies for all of the U-M’s financial assets, almost $4 billion, including asset allocation decisions and decisions regarding the retention of investment advisers. Policies would be recommended to the Board of Regents for its review and approval, with the Regents retaining their responsibility for making decisions about asset allocation and retention of investment managers.
Historically, advising the Regents on these functions had been a responsibility of the Treasurer’s Office.
“The growing size of the endowment, as well as the increasing scope, importance and complexity of investment and treasury activities, make the creation of this new role prudent,” say Kasdin and Norman Herbert, associate vice president and treasurer.
Russell Reynolds Associates, a New York-based executive recruiting firm, will help with the search.
M-Fit cooking classes at the East Ann Arbor Health Center Culinary School Kitchen continue through the spring. New culinary techniques optimizing efficiency, flavor and variety will be taught. All courses are held 6–8 p.m. in the demonstration kitchen, 4260 Plymouth Road. To register, $20 per class, $35 for couples and $55 for three classes, contact Nicole Goyarts, 998-6736. Offerings include:
March 3—Mexican Fiesta; March 17—Six Super Sauces for Quick and Easy Entrees; March 24—Short Cuts in the Kitchen; April 7—Spring Seafood Fare; April 28—Quick Breads and Muffins; May 5—Herbs and Spices from Your Garden to Your Kitchen; and May 12—Herbs and Spices from Your Garden to Your Kitchen encore.
The 1999 Reimbursement Accounts Claims Kits for both health care and dependent care accounts were mailed to participants Feb. 12. The kits are designed to simplify the procedure for filing reimbursement claims.
The kit folder can be used as a file for receipts and other information necessary to file a claim. The kit contains information on eligible expenses, how to file a claim, due dates, and reimbursement account management forms. Forms may be photocopied as needed.
Participants enrolled in dependent care and/or health care accounts who do not receive a kit by Feb. 19 can request a copy from any Benefits Office: Central Campus, (734) 763-1214, Medical Campus, (734) 764-6584, Flint campus, (810) 766-6845, or Dearborn campus, (313) 593-5192. Forms are also available on the Web at www.umich.edu/~benefits.
“New Ways to Feel Good,” a therapy group for adults 60 years of age and older who are experiencing depression, anxiety or low self-esteem, is being offered by the Turner Geriatric Clinic. The 10-week group will teach members to identify and question self-defeating thoughts. To register or for more information, contact Janet Fogler or Sally Edwards, 764-2556.
The Center for the Education of Women (CEW) is offering “Resume Writing 101” 6–8 p.m. Feb. 16 at CEW, 330 E. Liberty. The workshop, presented by Sara Turner, will describe resume basics and provide a forum for generating ideas, writing and fine-tuning resumes. To register, $10 ($5 U-M students), call 998-7080.
Connie K. Duckworth, a managing director of Goldman, Sachs and Co., will give the Business School’s Women’s Leadership Lecture 4:30–6 p.m. Feb. 18 in Hale Auditorium. Her topic is “Promoting and Sustaining Success in a Changing World.” She will address success factors for leadership, future challenges, and how men and women can improve gender integration in the workplace.
Duckworth is one of the leading women on Wall Street and a mother of four children. She is widely recognized as a leader among the “breakthrough generation” of women who lead corporations in top, frontline positions, and has been a leader in raising awareness of equity issues, and was instrumental in creating the first back-up child care center in the Goldman Sachs headquarters in New York.
Her free, public lecture, which will be followed by a reception, is sponsored by the Business School, the Center for the Education of Women and Michigan Business Women, a student organization. For more information, call 763-5796.
The following are changes in the Flint Chancellor Search Advisory Committee.
Anita Barry, professor of linguistics, and Carolyn Gillespie, associate professor and chair, Department of Theatre, will step down.
Virgil Cope, professor of chemistry, will be the new chair and Frederic Svoboda, chair, Department of English, will join the committee.
The School of Art and Design will present Marilyn Zimmerman in its continuing lecture series, “Photo-Active Feminist Artists” at 7 p.m. Feb. 19 in Room 2104, Art and Architecture Bldg.
Zimmerman’s photographs documenting Woodward Avenue in Detroit address issues relating to the construction of gender. Zimmerman fought a successful battle against censors when her home and Wayne State University offices were raided for photos she had taken of her daughter.
The series is sponsored by the School of Art and Design and the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, call 764-0397.
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible will be performed at 8 p.m. Feb. 18–20 and at 2 p.m. Feb. 20–21 in the Trueblood Theatre at the Frieze Bldg. University Productions is casting the play, which is directed by Philip Kerr. Tickets for the free play are available at the League Ticket Office and at the Trueblood one hour prior to each performance. For more information, call 764–0450.
The Crucible is a story of a Puritan community where a group of teenage girls accuse town citizens of witchcraft. The play examines the relationship between individual guilt and mass hysteria.
Kerr was the driving force in creating a studio in non-musical dramatic works for majors of the Musical Theatre Department. The production also highlights the work of the University’s student designers and stage managers.
“Bill Jacobson: Portraits, Songs, Thoughts, 1992–1997,” is open through March 28 in the West Gallery at the Museum of Art. An opening reception with the artist will be held at 5 p.m. Jan. 29. The exhibition consists of Jacobson’s photographic series: Interim Portraits, Interim Figures, The Songs of Sentient Beings and the Thought Series.
When describing his work, Jacobson said it “has been a constant meditation around desire, loss and the role of photography as a vehicle for remembrance.”
For more information, call 764-0395.
The Exhibition of Art by Michigan Prisoners will be open through Feb. 24 in the Rackham Galleries. Curating the exhibition are Buzz Alexander, professor of English, and Jean Paul, lecturer, School of Art and Design. Featured from 24 prison facilities are more than 60 artists with more than 100 pieces of art. Exhibition pieces range from charcoal portrait drawings to gritty real-life scenes created with coffee grounds.
A series of speakers addressing prison system issues will accompany the exhibition. Highlighted speakers are Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking, poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, and author Asha Bandele.
Art by Michigan Prisoners is being supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the U-M. For more information, call Laurie Hess, 913-4849, or send e-mail to lehess@umich.edu.
Karen Hall will discuss common age-related changes in gastrointestinal function 1:30–3:30 p.m. Feb. 16 in the Turner Clinic Conference Room of the Cancer Geriatrics Center Bldg., 1500 E. Medical Center Dr. Hall’s talk also will cover available treatments, cancer screening and prevention recommendations. For more information, call 764-2556.
Mail Service has just launched a Web page, www.mailservice.bf.umich.edu/, to answer questions about shipping services and internal and external mail.
The Intramural (IM) Sports Program is offering sporting opportunities in volleyball, inner tube water polo, a relays meet and Michigan classics softball. Registration may be completed at the IM Sports Bldg., 606 E. Hoover, with the exception of classic softball which has registration at Cliff Keen Arena.
Volleyball registration, $70 per team, is open 11 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Feb. 22. A mandatory manager’s meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Feb. 24 in Cliff Keen Arena. Matches will be played 5:30–9:30 p.m. Monday–Thursday and 12:30–9:30 p.m. Sundays (if necessary) beginning March 8 at the IM Sports Bldg.
Inner tube water polo registration, $45 per team, is 11 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Feb. 22. A mandatory manager’s meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Feb. 24 in Cliff Keen Arena. Games will be played 5:30–10:30 p.m. Monday–Thursday beginning March 8 at the Sports Bldg. pool.
Relays meet registration, $25 per team, must be completed by 4:30 p.m. Feb. 23. The meet includes half-mile, three-quarter mile, one-mile and two-mile races. The meet will begin at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 24 at the Track and Tennis Bldg.
Michigan Classics Softball registration may be done following the mandatory manager’s meeting March 2 at the Cliff Keen Arena. An entry fee of $510 for single game leagues and $1,020 for double-header leagues will be charged. Games begin May 3 at Mitchell Fields.
For more information, call 763-3562.
Jordanian students at the University, with the assistance of the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies, will host a memorial service for King Hussein at 7 p.m. Feb. 18 in Auditorium B, Angell Hall. The service will include a service and a video highlighting the late king’s life. For information, call 647-4142.
The Michigan Journal of International Law (MJIL) will present “Post-Cold War International Security Threats: Terrorism, Drugs and Organized Crime” Feb. 19–20 in Room 100, Hutchins Hall.
The opening panel will focus on “interstitial actors,” individuals who do not represent any internationally recognized territorial state, but have the reach and sophistication of a territorial state.
Other panels will focus on Financial Aspects of Terrorism, Prosecuting and Defending a Foreign Criminal and Weapons of Mass Destruction as Implements of Terrorism.
A banquet Feb. 19 will feature an address by Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, director of Transnational Threats for the National Security Council.
For more information, contact Eric Feiler, 763-2050, or visit the Web at www.law.umich.edu/pubs/journals/mjil/index.htm.
Entries, in slide format, for “GLASS: Its Substance and Attributes” by Michigan Artists are due March 6. Sponsoring the May 16–June 26 exhibition are U-M–Dearborn’s Art Museum Project, the Alfred Berkowitz Gallery and the Fine Art Associates support group.
Michigan artists, 18 years of age and older, are welcome to submit work in any medium. Recent works of glass, with glass as subject matter or exploring glass attributes such as fragility, transparency, opacity, refraction, reflection and distortion are invited.
For more information or a brochure with an application, call (313) 593-5058 or (313) 593-5087.
The America Reads Tutoring Corps, with the assistance of Community High School students, will hold a two-week book drive Feb. 15–Feb. 26 in honor of Dr. Suess’ 95th birthday.
Donations of new or gently used children’s books, appropriate for pre-kindergartners to third graders, can be dropped off at the Michigan Union, at various campus departments, residence halls, local high schools and the Ann Arbor Teen Center.
America Reads is a nationwide literacy effort initiated by the U.S. Department of Education to provide college students the opportunity to help all children be able to read by third grade. The U-M program hires about 100 tutors who serve more than 200 students in 10 elementary schools in Ann Arbor, Willow Run, Milan and Detroit. For more information, contact Albert Wat, program coordinator, 647-7766.
Buy a bone at the Exhibit Museum of Natural History to support a new pterodactyl display. Participants may sponsor anything from $15 tooth bones to $1,000 skulls. Sponsors will receive a personalized certificate, a name on a permanent exhibit hall plaque, and invitations to the exhibit preview party April 16. The deadline for inclusion on the plaque is April 9.
For more information or to receive a brochure, call 763-4190. For information on classroom sponsorships and single-donor sponsorships, call 936-5834.