The Weekly SPHere Sept. 4, 2007

The Weekly SPHere is a weekly electronic publication for students in the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. To submit items for the Weekly SPHere, please send an e-mail to sphere@umn.edu.

>Student News
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Student News

SPH Dean John Finnegan welcomes students, faculty, and staff back to the school.
• Read his column online

Summit of Sages scholarships available. The Densford Center at the School of Nursing will host the Summit of Sages, Oct. 14-16, an international conference of leaders to examine and advance social justice in society. Maya Angelou will launch the conference. Other speakers over the next day and a half include John Howe, president and CEO of Project Hope, and Jean Watson, a professor and scholar in caregiving. A major component of the conference is a dialogue with five exceptional individuals who have advanced social justice. The regular registration fee for this conference is $495, but the Academic Health Center is providing funds to fully sponsor student attendance. To register, send a request for the form to densford@umn.edu.
• Learn more online or contact Arlene Birnbaum at birnb023@umn.edu

SPH student listserv. If you would like to send messages directly to fellow students, you can do so using the SPH student listserv. Send messages to:
sph-students@lists.umn.edu. If you'd like to be removed from the listserv:

1. Address an e-mail to listserv@lists.umn.edu
2. Leave the subject line blank
3. Write: DEL SPH-STUDENTS <YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS>
4. Send

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School News

Public Health Moments from August include SPH faculty talking about topics such as alcohol advertising, donating blood, and immunizations.
• Listen to Public Health Moment

SPH Faculty Guidebooks available. If you would like copies of the 2006-07 SPH Faculty Guidebooks, please contact Kris Stouffer at stouffer@umn.edu. There are no limits on the quantity you may request. The 2007-08 edition of the guidebook will be available in early 2008.

The summer issue of Advances magazine features the international field experiences of SPH students. To request copies of Advances, email Kris Stouffer at stouffer@umn.edu. The magazines are also available outside of the Dean's Office in the Mayo building. Advances is a quarterly magazine for friends and alumni of the SPH.

Gates Millennium Scholars Institute - The SPH has partnered with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) Program to host the Gates Millennium Scholars Graduate Studies Institute: Pathways to Professions in Public Health. This event to be held Sept. 8 offers undergraduate students who receive scholarship support through the GMS program an opportunity to engage in discussions with current students in public health, participate in faculty driven case studies with student and community partners, and network with emerging leaders in public health. Funded through a $1 billion grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, UNCF is the administrator of the GMS program. For more information about the event, contact SPH staff Ruth Rasmussen, Lois Harrison, Carla Nathan, or Melvin Monette. For more information about the GMSP go to www.gmsp.org. This event is not open for general attendance.

Disaster in Franklin County: A Public Health Simulation - The University of Minnesota Center for Public Health Preparedness (CPHP) at the SPH Centers for Public Health Education and Outreach (CPHEO) has released Disaster in Franklin County: A Public Health Simulation. In this free online training tool the learner will assume the perspective of various public health professionals responding to a natural disaster. They will make decisions on behalf of a county public health director, a public health nurse, an environmental health specialist, and other public health professionals.
• Learn more/register online

Environmental Health Online - This series is designed to assist health professionals, with special emphasis on the role of nurses, who are interested in being members of the environmental health team by integrating knowledge and skills into professional practice through the use of distance learning technology. Each module offers readings, online references, and links to Web sites for timely updates on environmental health issues.
• Learn more online

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SPH Events

Join Career Conversations - The first Career Conversations will take place Sept. 19, 3:30–4:30 p.m., in Mayo D330. The topic is resume and cover writing basics. To learn more about these career development workshops, contact Barb Laporte, SPH Career Services, at blaporte@umn.edu.
• View the entire 2007-2008 Schedule
• Learn more about the Career Services Center

Taking an online course or considering it? Want to add some learning to your iPod playlist? Then make plans to attend the School of Public Health's Digital Learning Summit on Friday, Sept. 14. The open house-style event will give students an opportunity to meet instructors who teach online courses, learn what courses are available online, sample our downloadable lectures, and discover whether online learning is for you. The Digital Learning Summit will take place from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Mayo 3-125 (The foyer and large classrooms on the street level under the Mayo Auditorium). Free box lunches will be provided at noon.

Xenobiotics and Human Health Seminar Series: The Divisions of Epidemiology and Community Health and Environmental Health Sciences are holding a series of joint seminars. The goal is to exchange information and ideas about persistent organic pollutants and health, seen from several perspectives. Place and Time: Mayo 1155, Mondays, 10:30-noon. This schedule is subject to change. Please call Carol Raichert at 5-1836 to confirm.

• September 10: Duk-Hee Lee, Kyungpook University, and David Jacobs
  Can background exposure to persistent organic pollutants explain the current epidemic of type 2 diabetes?
• September 24: Jose Suarez (PhD student) and Bruce Alexander
• Exposure to pesticides on farms and flower plantations
• October 8: Jeff Mandel and Bruce Alexander
  Persistent fluorochemicals, worker health, and mortality
• October 22: Deborah Swackhamer and Matt Simcik
  Fate and transport of emerging chemical pollutants

Toxic Hazards in your Community: Free Community Workshops - These two-hour community workshops are for community members who are interested in understanding more about the toxic substances in their homes and neighborhoods. Participants will find out what might be dangerous where they live and how to protect their family and friends from those substances.
• Learn more online

Maternal Nutrition Intensive Course (Video Streaming), August 15-October 15, 2007. The National Maternal Nutrition Intensive Course offers online video streaming over the Internet to allow distance learners an opportunity to view sessions of the course. The streaming video sessions will be 8-9 hours.
• Learn more online

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Other Events

Creating a Global Partnership in Public Health Informatics will take place Sept. 17-18 at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center in Seattle, Washington.
• Learn more online

Minnesota Public Health Association's Centennial Celebration Gala - Join the MPHA as it celebrates 100 years as a contributor to the health of Minnesotans. Will Steger, polar explorer, will be the keynote speaker. October 25, 5:30 - 9:00 p.m. at McNamara Alumni Center.
• Learn more online

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