February 21, 2024

Inside This Issue

Supporting direct support professionals.
Smart signs could improve work-zone safety for flaggers.
Awards and Recognition: Announcing the recipients of the 2023-24 Distinguished Teaching Awards; and more.

Supporting direct support professionals

Despite decades-old federal law and a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision, crisis-level worker shortages have made inclusive community living unachievable for many people. Now, compelled by the U.S. Department of Justice and buoyed by the American Rescue Plan or other new funds, states are boosting pay and benefits for direct support professionals (DSPs) who provide a range of services for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Learn how the U of M Institute on Community Integration is working to recruit and retain DSPs.

Smart signs could improve work-zone safety for flaggers

Work-zone flagger holding up a stop sign to a large truck

Work-zone traffic control is one of the country’s most dangerous jobs, and flaggers are often the first line of defense against distracted, inattentive, or aggressive motorists. U of M researchers are working to develop new, cost-effective smart-sign technology to help make these jobs safer.

Awards and Recognition

Announcing the recipients of the 2023-24 Distinguished Teaching Awards; the American Medical Association has presented Michael Osterholm with its Award for Outstanding Government Service; a $3.5 million Department of Defense grant aims to support the use of telehealth to reach military families, geographically-dispersed families, and families who are highly mobile or lack providers near their homes; U in the News features highlights of University faculty and staff cited in the media.

Awards and Recognition

U-Wide News

Reserve space today for the 2024 Minnesota State Fair

Graphic of MN state outline reading Research on a stick

Recruit hundreds of participants within days at the Driven to Discover (D2D) Research Facility at the Minnesota State Fair. D2D provides turnkey research space for any U of M faculty, staff, or student investigator wishing to recruit participants and collect data from among the fair's two million annual visitors. Learn more and submit your online application by Feb. 29.

Submit a proposal for the International Forum on Active Learning in Classrooms

The International Forum on Active Learning in Classrooms invites faculty and staff systemwide to submit proposals that align with the forum’s focus on active learning in higher education. This forum is framed by the alignment between the use of evidence-based active and inclusive learning pedagogies in classrooms. Proposals are due March 1. The forum will take place Aug. 1-2, University of Minnesota Rochester.

Register for the Internationalizing the Curriculum and Campus Conference

Registration is open for the systemwide 2024 Internationalizing the Curriculum and Campus Conference, to be held March 22 on the Twin Cities campus. The conference celebrates and showcases a range of programs, research, and initiatives across the University to drive global learning forward. No charge and open to all faculty, staff, and students.

Apply for the 2024-25 Early Career Teaching and Learning Program

Faculty and instructors within their first five years can enhance their teaching, research, and public engagement skills by participating in the Early Career Teaching and Learning Program. Through discussion, practice, and reflection in cross-disciplinary large and small group interactions, you'll work to deepen your understanding of student learning and broaden teaching strategies with your courses in mind.

Dear Minnesota: Generational impact

When Lyndsay met her husband at the U of M, who would have thought it would lead to a campus engagement, a career, and starting a family? No matter the circumstance, her family is a testament to the maroon and gold. Read Lyndsay’s story, explore the Dear Minnesota series, and share your own story.

Crookston

U of M Crookston announces fall 2023 graduates

The University of Minnesota Crookston has announced the official list of fall 2023 graduates. Students from 19 states and four countries completed their degree requirements by the end of the fall semester.

Duluth

NRRI launches $4.5M DOE 'green steel' project

The Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) at UMD received a $2.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), matched with $1.6 million in NRRI internal funding, to develop a bio-based carbon product to replace fossil fuel in electric arc furnace steelmaking. Learn more about the project, which kicks off this month.

Sex education minus the stigma

Lizzy Bensen is double-majoring in public health and women, gender, and sexuality studies with the goal of helping to prevent adolescents from experiencing shame and stigma around their sexual experiences. Bensen was recently awarded an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program grant to study how youth and adults gain sexual knowledge.

Feb. 24 - Feast of Nations: Colors of the world

The theme of this year’s Feast of Nations is colors of the world. The event aims to celebrate and embrace cultures and diversity from all around the world. Presented annually by the UMD International Club, Feast of Nations will offer an array of international foods, a fashion show, and performances. 4:30-8:30 p.m., Kirby Ballroom.

Morris

Zenner receives Tate Award for advising

Keni Zenner '12, learning assistance coordinator in the Student Success Center and TRIO Student Support Services, has been named a recipient of the all-University John Tate Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising.

Community Engagement Award nominations

The U of M Morris Center for Community Partnerships is seeking nominations for its Community Engagement Awards for faculty/staff, students, and community members. The nomination deadline is Feb. 29.

Rochester

International Day of Women and Girls in Science

As a campus dedicated to health sciences, the U of M Rochester was proud to recently highlight four student leaders on International Day of Women and Girls in Science. The students shared advice, inspiration, and their reasons to advocate for women in STEM. Future physician Kendra Jude shared, “This day is important to encourage more girls and women to pursue a career in STEM. More diversity in STEM will allow for broader perspectives and better scientific outcomes overall.”

Patient Care Pathway: Courtnee Heyduk

Discover how Courtnee Heyduk navigated her time at UMR to prepare for her role as an inpatient child and adolescent psychiatrist in Council Bluffs, IA. UMR’s innovative degree programs and integrated curriculum provide students with a foundational health sciences education into six distinct Health Career Pathways. Learn more about UMR’s Patient Care Pathway.

Twin Cities

The art of storytelling in medicine

Anthony Williams in scrubs and stethescope

Anthony Williams is an internal medicine and pediatrics physician and associate director of the Center for the Art of Medicine’s Storytelling in Medicine Program at the University of Minnesota Medical School. His moving stories of race and marginalized communities in health care have been featured in the Journal of Graduate Medical Education and in Twin Cities Public Television specials. His story is part of the "Where it Starts" series.

Ambiguous loss: When closure doesn’t exist

Pauline Boss, professor emeritus in the Department of Family Social Science, has spent nearly 50 years studying ambiguous loss, a term she coined in the 1970s. Ambiguous loss describes a loss that remains unclear and thus has no resolution. Her groundbreaking theory has helped people across the world cope with the grief associated with loss through her development of ambiguous loss theory and its translation to clinical, community, and research-based settings.

A positive light on Black media representation

College of Liberal Arts PhD candidate Monica Evans explores the representation of Blackness in media. Her research aims to shift the focus from negative stereotypes to positive portrayals of Black people in popular culture. Meet other scholars and artists whose work confronts inequities at CLA Black History Month 2024.

Apply for the BTAA Academic Leadership Program

Faculty are encouraged to apply to participate in the 2024-25 Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) Academic Leadership Program. The program helps mid-level leaders develop their leadership acumen through BTAA conferences and conversations with U of M leaders. Questions and applications (including a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, and support letter from their department chair or dean) should be directed to Rebecca Ropers at [email protected] no later than Apr. 1.