Council
proposes $117 million for biosciences facilities
For several years, the College of Biological Sciences, MNBIO, and other
stakeholders have urged the state to invest in Minnesota’s biosciences
industry before we lose the opportunity to create our niche in this
rapidly growing field. This year, the state heard us. Governor Pawlenty
convened the Biosciences Summit and formed the Biosciences Advisory
Council. The legislature helped create the Biosciences Zone and funded
the Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment.
Now, I’m pleased to announce that the Biosciences Advisory Council
has recommended a $117 million bonding request to further support the
growth of the biosciences industry in Minnesota. Details of the request
are below. In addition, the Council has recommended funding for research
and new positions at the University of Minnesota.
It’s very satisfying to see that our efforts are paying off, and
that many people in high places now recognize the economic and environmental
benefits of biosciences industry. I, of course, am pleased because of
the opportunities this will provide for our students, faculty, and staff.
This is certainly a positive note on which to end the year. I’d
like to thank all of you for all the work you’ve done to help
position the College for this new and very promising era. Best wishes
to you and your family for happy holidays.
Sincerely,
Bob Elde, Dean
Bioscience
Council Bonding Request
Projects
currently in the Dept. of Finance bonding review process:
- $40 million for
the University of Minnesota/Mayo Clinic – Minnesota Partnership
for Biotechnology and Human Genomics building in Rochester.
- $40 million to
assist with funding the infrastructure needs for the Bioscience Zone
($20 million in St. Paul; $12 million, Minneapolis; $8 million, Rochester).
Projects that are
recommended, but not in the Dept. of Finance bonding review process:
- $5 million for
University Enterprise Laboratories to assist with building renovations
and equipment.
- $30 million for
the U of M – Bio-based Materials and Energy Laboratory on the
St. Paul campus.
- $2 million to
fund equipment purchases for the U of M - Biorefining Center.
The council also recommends
operational funding and administrative policies to support biosciences industry
in Minnesota.
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All College
Meeting
There was standing room only in 239 Gortner for the All College Meeting
in December, which included discussion of learning outcomes proposed
by the Curriculum Task Force; UM and CBS budget issues; Compact planning;
and Web-based surveys and other forms. Following is a summary for each
agenda item.
- Proposed
Learning Outcomes: Michael Simmons, Curriculum Task Force member
and professor of genetics, cell biology, and development presented learning
outcomes for five key areas, encompassing scientific knowledge and reasoning,
information and technology literacy, communication skills, biology's
social and cultural context, and preparation for life after college.
To read the proposed learning outcomes, go to the Curriculum Task Force
Web page at http://www.cbs.umn.edu/main/ctf/
and click on Proposed Learning Outcomes. The group welcomes comments
and suggestions at taskforce@cbs.umn.edu. The learning outcomes will
create a framework for the next step in the process, which is to review
the first two years of the CBS curriculum. Task force members are seeking
suggestions from faculty, students, national leaders in biology education,
leaders of affiliated colleges and departments at the University of
Minnesota, and other stakeholders.
- CBS Web
Forms:
Thanks to a new service on the CBS Web site (called HAWK), faculty and
staff are able to create their own Web-based forms for collecting data.
The process is relatively simple to master: typically, it takes someone
with no experience only an hour or two to create a form and put it online.
So far, HAWK forms have been created for surveys, registrations, and
problem reporting. Go to http://www.cbs.umn.edu/hawk/form46 to see an
example. If you have questions or would like a tutorial, send an e-mail
to help@cbs.umn.edu or call Jim Smith 625-6208.
- UM and
CBS budget issues: State budget forecasts are holding steady,
so the likelihood of a rescission this year is low. However, operating
budget planning assumptions require the University to identify $9M in
permanent cuts for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2004. Central administration
has not yet announced if those cuts will be selective or across the
board. The current budget plan calls for investments in the following
areas next year: $12M for academic initiatives; $7.2M for student service
related initiatives; funding for a 2.5% salary increase and related
fringe benefit costs; $3.9M for facility infrastructure, e.g. utilities,
debt, leases etc.; $7.2M for data network upgrade, security improvements,
etc.; $6.5M for unanticipated needs; and $10.5M for elimination of the
University's structural imbalance.
As a result of a number of factors (increased taxes, insurance, fringe
benefits, and graduate student stipends) the College is also facing
budget challenges. These factors, coupled with the recent rescissions
and reallocations, impact our ability to maintain our investment strategy.
While tuition revenues continue to grow, changes in the IMG model have
reduced the amount of tuition flowing back to the college. This uncertainty
makes it difficult to predict revenues and develop plans for the future.
- CBS Compact:
The Dean’s Office has begun to prepare the CBS Compact for 2004/2005.
Priorities are curriculum reform; the Initiative for Renewable Energy
and the Environment; funding for graduate education; CBS partnerships
with K-12 schools and with business and industry; and enrollment management,
including improved diversity and retention. The Provost uses compacts
to make allocations from the University’s discretionary fund,
which will be approximately $10 to $12 million for the next fiscal year.Dean
Elde visits partner K-12 schools in northwest Minnesota
Dean Elde
visited schools in Park Rapids, Bagley, Grand Rapids, and Bemidji
earlier this month to thank administrators and teachers for their efforts
to provide high quality science education to rural students. All of the
schools are members of the Science Education Partnership for Greater Minnesota
(SEPGM), a collaboration between the University and schools in northwestern
Minnesota to recruit and retain science teachers for secondary schools.
“I am very enthused about the quality of the work that this partnership
is supporting,” Elde said. “In one second grade classroom
at Bagley Elementary School students were learning about how the brain
perceives sensory stimulation. This is an example of how the University
can help improve the quality of K-12 education in greater Minnesota.”
The partnership, which is funded by a $1.7 million grant from the Howard
Hughes Medical Institute, grew out of concerns that many science teachers
are nearing retirement and replacement of teachers in greater Minnesota
is especially difficult. Components include an internship program that
places University of Minnesota students with mentors in local schools,
training programs at Lake Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories,
and opportunities for interns and teachers to participate in research
and use high tech equipment.
Biosciences top Bruininks
academic priorities
Biological sciences figure prominently in the University’s list
of academic priorities, which President Bruininks announced in his State
of the University address this fall.
- Biosciences and
biotechnology
- Environment and
renewable energy
- Translational
research in human health
- Healthy foods,
healthy lives
- Brain development
and vitality over the lifespan
- Children, youth,
and families
- Art and humanities
- Law and values
in health, environment, and the life sciences
“While it’s an honor for CBS to figure so prominently on the
President’s list of academic priorities, it’s also a responsibility,”
Dean Elde says. “The University and the State are depending on us
for leadership in areas that are critically important to the future of Minnesota
and the planet. Our goal is to make a difference in how the world deals
with challenges presented by a growing population and overextended ecosystems.
We’ll do our best to meet those challenges.”
Watch CBS News for details on these initiatives as they develop. The first
four will likely form the basis for the University’s programmatic
request to the Legislature in 2005.
Life Science Career and Internship Fair
CBS' annual Life Science Career and Internship Fair will take place Friday,
February 27, 2004, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m., in the McNamara Alumni Center. Please
forward this information to professional contacts who might be interested
in participating, remind students of the value of this event, and come meet
and greet employers, students, and alumni at the fair.
NMR workshop in January
A Practical NMR Workshop will be held January 13-15, 2004
For more information go to http://www.umn.edu/nmr/workshop.html
or contact Beverly Ostrowski at ostro016@umn.edu.
McGrath Library update
RefWorks is a Web-based citation management program that is now available
to all UM-TC students, staff and faculty through a University Libraries
pilot project. For more information, see http://www.lib.umn.edu/refworks/
Hands-on RefWorks classes are also scheduled for November and December.
Check times and register at http://www.lib.umn.edu/registration/
New "Find It" Service
As you search your favorite index, you may begin to see the new "Find
It"
buttons, which will save you steps in locating electronic and print
versions of the journals that you want. More info about Find It may
be
found at http://www.lib.umn.edu/articles/findit.phtml
Longer Hours at Magrath Library
Magrath Library is now open until 10 p.m. on Sunday-Thursday evenings. Due
to budget cuts, it was only open until 8 p.m. in September and October.
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Sarah
Hobbie and David Tilman, EEB, are co-principal
investigators on a four-year $1.8 million National Science Foundation
(NSF) grant titled “Interacting responses of C and N cycles to
altered biodiversity, elevated CO2, and N enrichment.” Peter
Reich, Forest Resources, is principal investigator. Hobbie
and Jennifer King, EEB, are co-principal investigators on a
two-year, $350,000 NSF grant to study “Coupled biogeochemical
cycles in urban and agricultural ecosystems: the role of hydrology,
stoichiometry, spatial linkages, and human behavior.” Pat
Brezonik, civil and mineral engineering, is principal investigator.
Both grants are part of the NSF Biocomplexity in the Environment Program
on Coupled Biogeochemical Cycles.
Charles Arntzen, founding director of the Arizona Biomedical
Institute and holder of the Florence Ely Nelson Presidential Chair in
Plant Biology at Arizona State University, received an honorary doctor
of science degree from the University at the Cargill Building on December
17. The award was given following Arntzen’s lecture, "Using
the Power of Plant Biotechnology to Prevent Infectious Disease: The
Science of Plant-derived Vaccines." The lecture was part of the
National Academy of Sciences Lecture Series, which is sponsored by the
Center for Microbial and Plant Genomics.
Jeffrey J. Esch, Margaret Chen, Mark Sanders, Matthew Hillestad,
Sampson Ndkium, Brian Idelkope, James Neizer and M. David Marks
recently published “A contradictory GLABRA3 allele helps define
gene interactions controlling trichome development in Arabidopsis”
in Development 130:5885-5894.
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CBS Calendar
Department Seminars
/main/about/seminar.shtml
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Comments and suggestions are welcome.
Visit the CBS Web site at www.cbs.umn.edu.
The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.
This publication is available in alternative formats upon request
from Peggy Rinard
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