Frontiers Summer 1999

AlumNews

As outgoing president of the Biological Sciences Alumni Society (BSAS), this is my final letter to you. Lisa Weik (B.S. '96), a regulatory affairs associate at Guidant Corp., will take over as BSAS president with the start of the new school year.

I am pleased to be stepping down as president on a positive note. BSAS has accomplished much in the past year, thanks to our dedicated group of volunteers.

Mary Jo Lockbaum, past BSAS president, led the effort to reestablish our alumni mentor program. It worked: eight mentor pairs were represented at the final wrap-up meeting in May. Several mentors commented that it was helpful to reflect on their career paths and the things that brought them to where they are now. Some said they learned more about their own careers through showing their student partners around and introducing them to colleagues. Students said they felt their mentors were accommodating and found the exposure to the workplace and discussion about career paths helpful. The only difficulty for most pairs was trying to schedule time in their busy schedules to get together--many ended up meeting by phone and e-mail. Next year's mentor program will begin in September or October, which should give the pairs more time to get together.

I am also happy to report that BSAS has established a new committee that will plan events to involve alumni with CBS and the U in interesting and exciting ways. Stay tuned for information on upcoming events.

One final piece of good news: alumni and friends of CBS now have our own area of the new CBS Web site. It's at www.biosci.cbs.umn.edu/7alumni/7alumni.html. Be sure to tell us about yourself using the new class notes page!

Thanks to everyone who has made this past year a success, and to all who will volunteer their time next year to keep alumni involved with the college.

Tom Skalbeck
President, Biological Sciences Alumni Society

CBS alumna to receive Outstanding Achievement Award
Shirley Tucker (B.A. 1949, M.S. 1951) will receive an Outstanding Achievement Award (OAA) Tuesday, September 28, at a symposium in her honor on the St. Paul campus. The OAA, the highest award the University of Minnesota grants to its alumni, recognizes exceptional achievement in a professional field. Tucker is Boyd Professor Emerita of Louisiana State University; an adjunct professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara; and a research scientist at the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden. Both her University of Minnesota degrees are in botany; she received her Ph.D. in botany from the University of California, Davis, in 1956. She is a Fellow of the Linnean Society and has served as president of the Botanical Society of America and the American Society of Plant Taxonomists.

New alumni relations officer
Paul Germscheid, former CBS outreach coordinator, is the new CBS alumni relations coordinator. Paul can be reached at 612-624-9717.

A site for your eyes
Be sure to visit the new CBS Alumni & Friends Web pages at http://www.biosci.cbs.umn.edu/7alumni/7alumni.html Part of a new, college-wide Web site, the pages include alumni news and events, class notes, volunteer opportunities, information on the Biological Sciences Alumni Society and the University of Minnesota Alumni Association, Career Center information, and giving opportunities.

BSAS Itasca Weekend 1999
The BSAS Itasca Weekend will be held October 1­3 in conjunction with the Itasca 90th anniversary celebration. All the family fun you've come to expect--field biology mini-courses; children entertained and supervised by staff of the Bell Museum of Natural History; bonfires and s'mores--will be part of the weekend. This year will also include special slide presentations and a lunch with President Yudof to celebrate the people and things that have made the station special. For more information, go to biosci.cbs.umn.edu/biolink/Itasca/ or call Doris Rubenstein at 612-624-3279.

You've waited 90 years for this "Itasca at 90: Field Stations at the Crossroads," a symposium in honor of the founding of the University's Lake Itasca Forestry and Biological Station, will be held Thursday, September 30. Speakers will include Thomas M. Frost of the National Science Foundation; G. David Tilman of the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior; and Ronald Calabrese of Emory University and the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Mass. The event is sponsored by CBS; the College of Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Sciences; and the Medical School. For more information, call Doris Rubenstein, 612-624-3279.

BSAS Board of Directors--Officers
President: Tom Skalbeck
President-elect: Lisa Weik
Acting Secretary/Treasurer: Deanna Croes
Past President: Mary Jo Lockbaum
National Board Representative: Carol Pletcher

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