SPH News
April 18, 2006
Contents
SPH News is a School-wide
electronic newsletter distributed every other Monday during the school year. Please send news items to SPHNews@umn.edu. Whenever possible, please
use SPH News in place of School-wide
e-mails.
The submission deadline for the May 1 issue is noon on Friday,
April 28.
A couple of weeks ago, I discussed our need as a School to have frank
and open discussions about issues of race and diversity. Since then, I have received input
from faculty, staff and students and have also consulted outside of the
School. The first step I am taking
to initiate this discussion is a seminar with the SPH Executive Team and
faculty leaders of our MPH programs.
The seminar will be conducted by staff of the University Office of Equal
Opportunity and Affirmative Action (OEOAA) directed by Julie Sweitzer. My reasons for taking this first step is
that school leadership must lead in this arena. If the issues of race and diversity are
not on the agenda of SPH leaders, we can hardly expect them to be addressed by
faculty, staff and students. My
expectations of this first step are that school leaders including myself will
more fully understand the issues of diversity, the experiences of students of
color and utilize this raised consciousness to plan with OEOAA an ongoing
program and other steps.
One other observation: Last
week I attended a meeting of the SPH Student Diversity Committee. It was an excellent and well-run
meeting. I especially benefited from an open discussion with faculty and
students (both
--John R. Finnegan, Jr., Ph.D.
Lynn
Blewett, Jon Christianson, Michael Davern, and Bryan Dowd will be presenting at the
Academy Health Annual Research Meeting (ARM) to be held June 25-27 in
24-hour Deadline for Proposal
Submissions: Effective May
1, Sponsored Projects Administration (SPA) will enforce the campus policy
requiring principal investigators (PIs) to deliver proposals to SPA at least 24
hours prior to the sponsor’s submission deadline. For more information,
go to http://www.ospa.umn.edu/policiesandprocedures/24hourdeadline.html.
Three School of Public
Health students will receive the 2006 Award for Student Excellence in Public
Health Practice. They are: Laura
Richardson, Erin O'Fallon, and
Perry Logan,
Please take a
moment to consider students who have distinguished themselves in community
service during their academic studies. The Minnesota Public Health Student
Achievement Award annually honors one student. For nomination guidelines and
nomination requirements, e-mail Joan Pasiuk pasiu001@umn.edu.
Nominations are due April 24.
The
SPH Student Senate has formed a Relay for Life team. The Relay for
Life on April 21 is an annual
fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Teams walk overnight to raise money
for cancer research, education, and advocacy. Everyone in the SPH is welcome to
join the Senate team. If you are interested in joining or donating, please
visit the Senate team website:
http://www.acsevents.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=128423&team=1239009. If you have
any questions, please contact Senate volunteer co-coordinator Zaynab Rezania at
reza0022@umn.edu.
The
National Public Health Week (NPHW) Film Festival drew a highly
supportive audience of more than 325 people! The festival reached a broad
audience this year – from high school, undergraduate and graduate
students across the metro area, to practicing professionals and interested
community members. The two highest attended evenings were Tuesday's
Infectious Diseases films, with 75 attendees, and Friday's Sex Ed films.
Compliments
of the festival's co-sponsor organizations, one attendee won a $50 gift card to
the
2006 Summer Public Health Institute:
May 22 – June 9. Professionals
have a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in a chosen field of study
– for a single course or the entire three weeks of the Institute. For
more information on courses, faculty, special programs and events, and
registration, please visit www.sph.umn.edu/publichealthplanet/events/institute/home.html
or
call 612-625-4515.
Financial support (tuition and fees) is
available for students who are
willing to participate in an evaluation study of courses offered in the
Cultural Responsiveness Series at the 2006
Public Health Institute. Support is available for students/staff working
with culturally diverse populations in a health/social service setting. For an
application or more information, call 612-625-5665 or e-mail php@umn.edu. Courses listed at www.sph.umn.edu/publichealthplanet.
An improved version of Advances is
online. The quarterly publication of
the
A new book called Milestones in Public Health takes an in-depth look at the top public health
accomplishments of the
Anne
Gerlach, program coordinator in EpiCH,
will receive an award from the Girl Scouts Council of Minneapolis April 25,
in recognition of her work with the CAL-girls study. Anne developed a
10-session program to build healthy bones and trained 15 troop leaders to
implement the program. She also converted the program materials to a version
that could be used by the entire Girl Scouts Council.
The
myU portal now offers customized views for Academic Health Center faculty,
staff and students to support efforts to teach, learn, and communicate. For
more information about the myU portal and its uses go to
https://www.myu.umn.edu/metadot/index.pl?iid=613433&isa=Category.
Spring
and Summer Epi Shuttle Schedule:
April 10: 7-passenger vehicle replaces 15-passenger van
May 13: end of spring semester, last full day of shuttle service
May 15 – June 9: summer schedule, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
June 12 – Sept. 4: no shuttle service
The SPH Alumni
Network is available online. By providing contact information to
the network, alumni can become a valuable resource for current and prospective
students who are curious about public health careers. And, of course, they can
also use the network to forge connections with other alumni. Check it out at http://www.sph.umn.edu/alumni/network/home.html.
Faculty
candidate Anil Kaul, M.D., D.D.S., M.P.H. will present “Has Increased
Intrapartum Antibiotic Use Changed the Epidemiology of Perinatal
Infections?” Tuesday, April 18. The seminar will be held in WBOB Room 142
from 1:30 – 2:30 p.m., with refreshments available at 1:15 p.m.
“Sudden
Cardiac Death: What Have We Learned?” will
be presented by SPH professor Russell
Luepker as part of the Mayo Professors in Public Health Lecture series. The
event will take place TODAY, April 18, 4 p.m. reception, 4:30-5:30 p.m.
lecture, in the Molecular and Cellular Biology building, room 3-120. The Mayo
Professor program honors SPH faculty who are internationally recognized
scholars in public health.
The Center for
Public Health Preparedness is offering a series of three workshops titled FSI
April 20, 8am-1pm, Food Distribution
Register online at http://ustar.ahc.umn.edu/register_event.cfm.
For more information contact Ruth Rasmussen at 612-625-8836 or rasmu048@umn.edu.
The
SPH Roundtable Series presents “From the Human Genome through Health
Disparities to Public Health” on Thursday, April 20.
This event is free and open to the public. Topics covered: the current state of human genome science; the social, ethical,
and legal considerations and implications of genomics research; and the
implications of genomics research for public health practice. Find more
information and register at http://www.sph.umn.edu/publichealthplanet/events/roundtable/home.html.
Terrorist
Threats to our Food Supply: Food Protection and Defense--
Science,
Ethics & Law is a full-day conference to take place Friday,
April 21 at the
Michael
Osterholm,
http://www.lifesci.consortium.umn.edu/conferences/foodsafety.php.
A reception for recent, past, and prospective
retirees will be held Friday, April
21 from 2 – 3:30 p.m. in the Dale Shepherd Room of the Campus Club.
Hosted by the University of Minnesota Retirement Associations (UMRA), the
reception offers retirees the chance to learn the benefits of UMRA, ask
questions, and discuss possible new UMRA initiatives. The UMRA is an
organization of faculty, civil service, and P&A retirees dedicated to
representing the interests of all University retirees and encourages retirees
to continue as active members of the University community. Learn more at www.umn.edu/umra.
Call
for Abstracts:
One day. One
night. One community. Relay for Life on April 21 is about celebration,
remembrance, and hope. Participants in this annual event honor cancer survivors,
pay tribute to the lives lost to cancer, and raise money to help fight it.
Register online at http://www.acsevents.org/relay/mn/uofm.
For more information, contact Jenny Meslow, at meslo001@umn.edu.
Mass
dispensing online training modules are available
to assist individuals who may be asked to work in mass dispensing sites during
an emergency. To view the modules visit www.umncphp.umn.edu/massdisp.
For more information, contact Jennifer Reilly at 624-7440 or e-mail massdisp@umn.edu.
A
seminar titled “Adolescent Research and Social Policy,” will be
held on April 24 from 9-10:30 a.m. in 1114 Soc Sci. The presentation will feature Dr. Anne Peterson, senior vice
president with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and formerly the deputy director and
chief operating officer of the National Science Foundation and vice president
for research and dean of the University of Minnesota Graduate School.
The
U of M American Indian Elders’ Council will hold a free educational forum, titled “A
Time of Truth,” on April 26 from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. at Coffman
Memorial Theatre. Native elders representing several tribal traditions will
share knowledge about child-rearing practices and teaching approaches.
Skin cancer and public smoking headline the spring
2006 "Cancer U: Ask the Experts" programs.
Both programs run from 9 to
11 a.m. at the Radisson University Hotel on the Twin Cities campus in
The
2006 Gaylord Anderson lecture will take place May 4 at 4
p.m. in the Mayo Memorial Auditorium.
N.K. Ganguly, M.D., director
general of the Indian Council of Medical Research, will speak. Dr. Ganguly is one of
Geographic
Information Systems (GIS) will be the subject of a free symposium
to be held May 5 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. in Walter Library Room 101 on the
East Bank. The event will explore the technical, legal and ethical implications
of GIS developed and utilized for animal and human health research.
Pre-registration is required; register online at www.cvm.umn.edu/cahfs or contact Lisa
Brienzo at brien@umn.edu.
Hold the Date
– Annual School-Wide Meeting Friday, May 12: For all
The
The
Community-Campus Partnerships for Health’s (CCPH) ninth conference will
explore where we are now and where we need to be with community-campus
partnerships. The conference will be held from Wednesday, May 31 – Saturday,
June 3. For more information, visit www.ccph.info.
The
Calendar
of April Events
|
Date |
Time |
Event |
Location |
Contact |
|
April
17-19 |
8
a.m.-5 p.m. |
OSHA 2250:
Principles of Ergonomics Applied to Work-Related Musculoskeletal and Nerve
Disorders |
|
|
|
April
20 |
8-11:30
a.m. |
Roundtable Series: From the
Human Genome Through Health Disparities to Public Health |
Coffman
Memorial Union Theater |
http://www.sph.umn.edu/publichealthplanet/events/roundtable/home.html
|
|
April
21 |
10-11
a.m. |
EpiCH seminar:
Jennifer Linde |
WBOB
364 |
|
|
April 21 |
8-9 a.m. |
VA/AHC
Clinical Research Conference: Dr. Mandeep Sawhney |
1-450G |
|
|
April
21 |
8-9 a.m. |
VA/AHC
Clinical Research Conference: Dr. Areef Ishani |
Moos
Tower 1-450G |
|
|
April
24 |
9-10:30 a.m. |
“Adolescent
Research and Social Policy” |
Soc Sci
1114 |
|
|
April 24-26 |
8
a.m.-5 p.m. |
24-Hour Hazardous
Materials Emergency Response Operations Level Training |
Faye
Thompson Memorial Bldg. |
|
|
April 24-28 |
8
a.m.-5 p.m. |
40-Hour Hazardous
Materials Emergency Response Technicians Level Training |
Faye
Thompson Memorial Bldg. |
|
|
April 28 |
10-11 a.m. |
EpiCH
seminar: Cheryl Perry |
WBOB
364 |
|
|
May 5 |
10-11 a.m. |
EpiCH
seminar: Dianne Neumark-Sztainer |
WBOB
364 |
|
|
May 11 |
8
a.m.-5 p.m. |
8-Hour Hazardous
Materials Emergency Response Refresher |
TBD |
|
|
May 12 |
10:15-11:45 a.m. |
SPH
Annual Faculty and Assembly Meeting |
TBD |
|
|
May 17 |
8 a.m.-5 p.m. |
Office
Ergonomics: A Practical Approach |
|
Event listings are available at the SPH Web site at http://www.sph.umn.edu/news/events/home.html and the AHC
site at http://www.ahc.umn.edu/calendar/.
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issues of SPH News, go to http://www.sph.umn.edu/news/sphnewsletter.html.
SPH News is sent by
the University of Minnesota School of Public Health,