SPH News Nov. 13, 2006Jump to:
SPH News is a school-wide electronic newsletter distributed every other Monday. Please send news items to SPHNews@umn.edu. The submission deadline for the Nov. 27 issue is noon on Wednesday, Nov. 22. From the DeanI'll bet you are as glad as I am not to have to wallow in negative political ads for awhile. So as the mud-slinging from the mid-term elections stops, what are the prospects for health and education? Pundits say this will depend first on whether the newly empowered Democrats decide to spend the next two years truly governing (requiring bipartisan agenda-building) or merely making life hell for George Bush with rounds of never-ending investigations. I think the pundits are right. If Democrats choose the former, then we might see some progress with Republican moderate support mustered. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the likely Speaker of the House, has an ambitious agenda for the first "100 hours" of her tenure: cut student loan interest rates in half; authorize the Federal government to negotiate cheaper drug prices with Big Pharma; and federally fund stem cell research. And that's only half of the "100 hour" agenda! Beyond that, Democrats hope to reduce dependence on oil through alternative fuel development; reform Medicare and fix the "Part D" drug benefit; make tuition tax deductible; and raise the minimum wage. If the Democrats succeed in building partnerships, we could even see an increase in the currently flat national budget for health research, usually a bipartisan no-brainer. How successfully this agenda develops over the next two years will depend also, of course, on what policies the Democrats decide to push for Iraq, and how much they influence the President's foreign policy. As President Dwight Eisenhower, no stranger to war, said in 1953, "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. The world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children." Amen to that. --John R. Finnegan, Jr., Ph.D. Media NewsOctober 2006 media coverage featured the following SPH faculty and staff: Lynn Blewett Coverage was featured in local media as well as on MSNBC, CNN, and CBS News. Visit http://www.sph.umn.edu/news/ to read more about SPH faculty in the news and find links to the complete stories, or e-mail SPHNews@umn.edu to request hard copies of the stories. Faculty newsFunding Opportunity: SPH Small Grants. The Minnesota Medical Foundation has designated $50,000 for this year's SPH small grants program. The SPH research committee will award individual grants of up to $25,000 each. For a copy of the application materials or examples of successful proposals, please e-mail reink001@umn.edu. For further questions, please contact your division representative on the research committee: Jim Hodges, BIO; Gurumurthy Ramachandran, EnHS; John Himes, EpiCH; Jim Begun, HPM. The application deadline is Nov. 28. Please hold 9:15-10:45 a.m. of Friday, Dec. 8, for this year's tenured faculty meeting for voting on documentation for promotion and tenure. The meeting will be held in 1250 Mayo. Documentation will be available for faculty review for approximately one week prior to the meeting. Student newsDenise Feda has been elected to serve as the University of Minnesota campus liason to the Student Assembly of the American Public Health Association (APHA). Campus liaisons advance the mission of the Student Assembly of APHA to enhance students' education and professional development. Feda is a PhD candidate in EnHS, studying injury epidemiology. Limited copies of the book Milestones in Public Health are available at the Health Careers Center (2-565 Moos). The book describes eleven public health milestones in the 20th century. Each chapter outlines the history behind the milestone, a case study, a vignette and a reflection on the future challenges that lay ahead in each topic area. And the winner is… Elizabeth Beyer. She took home an iPod after the Oct. 20 Pathways to Public Health event co-sponsored by the SPH and Health Careers Center. Save the date: CLARION will host SPH professor Gordon Mosser, who will speak on interprofessionalism and quality improvement in health care. For more information, contact Allison Prusak (prus0022@umn.edu). Time TBA. Date: Thursday, Dec. 7, in Weaver Densford 2-120. School newsWinter Clothing Drive sponsored by the International Institute of Minnesota. All clothing will be given to newly arrived refugees and asylees who will experience their first Minnesota winter this year. Please bring new or gently used winter outerwear (coats, jackets, mittens, gloves, scarves, and hats). Donations can be dropped off in the Student Services Center, D-305 Mayo, until noon on Nov. 17. Donations can also be taken directly to the institute building at 1694 Como Ave., in St. Paul, Nov. 17, 1-6 p.m. , and Nov. 18, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Due to limited space, donations can only be accepted at the institute on these days. Save the date for the SPH Winter Reception. SPH faculty, staff, and students are invited to the school's annual Winter Reception on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2:30 p.m., at the Weisman Gallery. More details to come. The University’s Academic and Corporate Relations Center (ACRC) is open for business. The new “front door” to the University offers the business community access to resources and information through ACRC’s concierge service, relationship managers, and Web site. Learn more and/or contact ACRC at 6-3438 or frontdoor@umn.edu. Kirk Allison recently testified to the International Relations Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the U.S. House of Representatives. Allison teaches the SPH course Health and Human Rights and is a graduate faculty member in the Division of Health Policy and Management. Event listingsThe Midwest States Health Reform Summit will take place Tuesday, Nov. 14, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., at the Depot in downtown Minneapolis. Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Massachusetts Sec. Timothy Murphy will discuss policy options available to the states as well as states' capacity to be innovative in addressing health care problems. SPH faculty member Lynn Blewett, director of the State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC) is joining with the National Institute for Health Policy at St. Thomas University to host the event. Americans for UNFPA Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights Pangea World Theater invite you to a screening of Deepa Mehta's Water, a film about the forced isolation of Indian widows, at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15. A reception will be held at 6 p.m. and a panel discussion will follow at 9 p.m. The events will take place at the Weisman Art Museum. Admission is $25. (parking validated) Panel discussion follows with Anika Rahman, president of Americans for UNFPA, Cheryl Thomas, director of the Women's Human Rights Program at Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights and Meena Natarajan, executive director of Pangea World Theater. Making the Connections Between Immigration Rights and Reproductive Rights at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 16. Pro-Choice Resources is presenting a lively discussion on immigrants’ rights and reproductive rights at the YMCA Midtown, 2121 East Lake Street in Minneapolis. Ligia Rivera of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health and State Senate candidate Patricia Torres Ray are scheduled to speak. Bowling Blowout Night presented by the SPH Student Senate from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 16. Attention all SPH students, faculty, staff, and families: Enjoy a fun evening of bowling at Goldy’s Gameroom, located on the lower level of the Coffman Memorial Union. Free dinner, refreshments, shoe rental, and unlimited bowling. Come play for fun or take part in a friendly student versus faculty and staff bowling competition. Come with a team of five or join one when you arrive. Vegetarian options will be available. No RSVP necessary. If you have any questions, please email Ashley at moren075@umn.edu. Frank Cerra will present “Pursuing the Future with Vision and Drive,” 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 30 in room 1-450 Moos Tower. (Refreshments will be served from 2:45 to 3 p.m.) SPH faculty and staff are invited. Division of Epidemiology and Community Health Seminars take place Fridays, 10-11 a.m. in WBOB, room 364. Learn more at the Epi Web site. Upcoming seminars: Upcoming CPHEO Courses The SPH Roundtable, "International HIV/AIDS and Human Rights," will take place in recognition of World AIDS Day on Friday, Dec. 1, 9 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Featured speakers are SPH professor Alan Lifson and Steven Miles, Medical School. SPH deans John Finnegan and Debra Olson will provide opening remarks. The roundtable is free but registration is encouraged. Learn more and/or register for the Roundtable. The Emerging Leaders' Network will be graduating its fourth cohort of emerging leaders. A reception and graduation ceremony will take place on Dec. 1, 5-6:30 p.m. at the Minnesota Humanities Center in St. Paul. SPH dean John Finnegan will provide the 2006 ELN Leadership Address. Please register by Nov. 22 by contacting Lee Kingsbury at 651-201-3877 or lee.kingsbury@health.state.mn.us. The Emerging Leaders Network—a leadership development program for rising stars in public health—is a collaborative program of the SPH, Minnesota Public Health Association, Local Public Health Association, and Minnesota Department of Health. To sign up to receive SPH News, send your name and e-mail address to SPHNews@umn.edu. SPH News is sent by the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, 420 Delaware Street, S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455. www.sph.umn.edu. |