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k,4-.- 1 O The University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences p '4,I qF~I . \% 1~ Y T\~d~ -Wf Alit Z.I-WAV IN THIS ISSUE: Foundations and Corporations: Worth a Look............ 3 A Study Abroad That Won't Break the Bank ................... 4 A Subtropical Creation .................. 5 Childhood & Literacy ..................... 6 Reaching Out to the Community ............................ 7 Around the College ....................... 8 G rants............................ ........... 10 Bookbeat ...................................... 11 UNIVERSITY OF F LORIDA The Foundation for The Gator Nation. College of Liberal Arts and Sciences News and Publications 2008 Turlington Hall PO Box 117300 Gainesville FL 32611-7300 editor@clas.ufl.edu http://clasnews.clas.ufl.edu CLASnotes is published by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to inform faculty, staff and stu- dents of current research, news and events. The Dean's Musings Competing for Future Economies The effect of globalization in evening out the field of competition between emerging nations and the economic giants has been faster than many of our "experts" had predicted. The high technology sectors are now aggressively expanding in many growth areas around the world, including India, Finland, Ireland, Indonesia and Australia. These areas are focusing on scientific and tech- nical building blocks that have been the foundation for US economies in areas of electronics, pharmacology and space technologies. Unfortunately, today's top candidates for graduate study in science and math are electing to stay home and train in their own countries. The effects of losing students and graduates in advanced technology will keenly be felt in Florida. The future of the state depends on our ability to develop new industrial technologies (e.g. the space sciences, biomedical applications, new agriculture) that will underpin the state's future. The training of advanced students, especial- ly those in the critical areas of technology, who also are well prepared in writing, languages and inter-personal skills is vital. The training of future teachers in the core areas of science and mathemat- ics is also critical for building the scientific workforce. Without skilled teachers in middle and high schools, students turn too easily away from the difficult subjects and develop a lack of appreciation or understanding of the career opportunities they will later be denied. Early experiences and exposure to the technical world is important if we are to turn the current trend around. A first step will be to find the means necessary to address the critical shortage of sci- ence and math teachers. We need to encourage bright students to enter this field and provide the support to make their careers meaningful, so that in turn they can help us build the next generation of technology leaders. Neil Sullivan sullivan@phys. ufl. edu Dean: Editor: Contributing Editor: Design: Web Master: Copy Editor: Intern: @ Printed on recycled paper Neil Sullivan Allyson A. Beutke Buffy Lockette Jane Dominguez Jeff Stevens Michal Meyer Tiffany Iwankiw On the Cover: Thanks to a new language and literacy test designed by Communication Sciences and Disorders Professor Linda Lombardino, specialists can now predict reading problems in children as young as age 4-allowing time for remediation before a child falls behind in school. See page 6. CLASnotes March 2005 page 2 Foundations and Corporations: Worth a Look Kim Taylor is the new Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. In this newly created position, Taylor will work with faculty members to find corporate and foundation sources of fund- ing and assist with the grant writing process. Her office is located in the UF Foundation Building with other members of the CLAS Development Office. Taylor earned her master's degree in mass communication from UF in August 2005 and also holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Smith Col- lege. She has worked as a biological scientist with UF's College of Medicine and also served as associate director of corporate and foundation relations at the UF Foundation. Y you've probably heard about private foundations funding academic research. You might have a colleague who received a grant from a heavy-hitter like the Ford Foundation. Maybe you've thought about looking into this whole "foundations thing" yourself but keep getting tied up with other obligations. No longer must faculty fly solo in their pursuit of foundation funding. In Febru- ary, the college created a new position designed to help faculty find and secure funds from foundations and corpora- tions. Although fundraising efforts often revolve around soliciting individuals, foundations and corporations should not be overlooked. Last year, foundations and corporations gave $11.4 billion to higher education-4.5 percent of over- all giving-according to the Council for Aid to Education's "Voluntary Support of Education" survey. Corporate and foundation fund- ing can appeal to faculty for a number of reasons. One advantage is that their applications usually require less time than those of government funding agen- cies. For example, most foundations rely on pre-proposals to gauge whether an applicant fits with their interests, invit- ing only those applicants who fit the bill to submit full proposals. This process helps ensure that faculty members aren't investing time creating lengthy propos- als, which are then doomed to a founda- tion's circular file. Another perk of foundations is they often step in to fill gaps left by tradi- tional funders like the National Science Foundation or the National Endowment for the Humanities. Many foundations pride themselves on supporting "big idea" projects that have been labeled too novel, risky or cutting-edge for govern- ment funders, including large-scale interdisciplinary collaborations. Others will support meat-and-potatoes efforts like fieldwork, library research, mentor- ing graduate students, or putting on a conference. These examples illustrate the one constant with foundations-their interests run the gamut. Some foundations prefer to fund established scholars while others prefer rising stars. Some prefer to support a faculty member's existing research while oth- ers want to help launch faculty in new directions. Some foundations make gifts as modest as $15,000 while others offer support in excess of $1.5 million. The one thing foundations usually don't fund is endowments. Corporations, on the other hand, may be more inclined to make endowment gifts, though having the right relationship is key. Corporations typically expect existing ties to the university in at least two of three areas-faculty research, recruitment and partnership opportunities (e.g. technology transfer)-before they will consider a major endowment gift. It's nearly impossible for faculty members to find the time to learn all these nuances, and now they won't have to. Faculty interested in exploring foundations and corporations for support of their work should contact me, Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations (ktaylor@uff.ufl.edu). I stay up-to-date on funding trends among key, well-known foundations and corpo- rations, and can help you pull together an application for any founder that fits with your research. I look for- ward to working with you. -Kim Taylor CLAS Successes Ford Foundation Following a grant renewal com- ing in 2006, Political Science Professor Philip Williams and his team will have received more than $1 million to study Latino immigrants in the South. W.M. Keck Foundation Astronomy Professor Jian Ge recently received $875,000 to develop an instrument that has the capability of observing stars at 10 times the depth of current surveys, in hopes of discovering thousands of new planets. David and Lucile Packard Foundation An interdisciplinary group led by Chemistry Professor Wei- hong Tan received a $1 million Packard Science and Technology Award in 2002 to use nanotech- nology to capture snapshots of activity within single neurons. Volkswagen Foundation History Professor Fred Gregory is collaborating with German scholars on a $175,000 project from the Volkswagen Founda- tion focused on "Mysticism and Modernity." CLASnotes March 2005 page 3 A Study Abroad That Won't Break the Bank CLAS students travel internationally over spring vacation Like many students, political science senior Matt Williams had never traveled outside the US until a spring break trip in college. But his first international experience was not on a beach in Cancun, but rather a visit to the remnants of the Berlin Wall guided by one of his favorite professors. As one of 15 students to participate in Political Science Associate Professor Ido Oren's Berlin Study Tour during spring break last year, Williams had the chance to visit the German parliament building, as well as the Red Army victory memo- rial, the Checkpoint Charlie Museum, Hitler's bunker, and the site of the 1942 Wannsee Conference. He also enjoyed a performance of the German Symphony Orchestra in Berlin's spectacular phil- harmonic concert hall-all while other American college students were working on their suntans. Due to their affordability and short- er time commitments involved, spring break study abroad programs are growing in popularity at UF "They are great ways to visit new places, spend less money and make for an atypical but fun spring break," says Williams. There are currently five university-sponsored study abroad opportunities held over the break, three of which are led by faculty in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. "These are popular for many rea- sons," says CLAS Associate Dean for Centers, Institutes and International Affairs Angel Kwolek-Folland. "They do not require such a huge investment of time, money, and preparation for stu- dents-who are often short on time and money. And sometimes the thought of that first trip outside the US is frighten- ing and intimidating for both students and their parents. A shorter trip with a group seems more manageable and safe. Once over the initial hurdle, the next trip is easier." In Oren's Berlin tour, the visit is paired with his INR 4083 course, War and Peace in World Politics, and is aimed at bringing to life the places, events and names covered by the material studied in class. "It introduces students to alter- native interpretations of the origins of World Wars I, II and the Cold War," Oren says. "And Berlin was at the epicen- ter of all these great conflicts of the 20th century." Center for Latin American Studies professors Eliza- beth Lowe and Bernadette Cesar-Lee, as director and assistant director of the center's translation studies pro- gram, take a group of students to Brussels, Luxembourg, Paris and Strasbourg each spring break on a multilin- gual, multicultural tour of Europe. To participate, stu- dents must be fluent in at least one language other than English and come ready to observe the intersections of languages and cultures in the immerging European Union (EU). The experience includes not only visits to cultural sites, but also formal meetings with EU officials and representatives from Brussels University. "Our students understand that experiencing how other societies function and how multilingual and mul- ticultural societies develop mutual respect prepares them to become better competent leaders in our current geo- political world structures," says Cesar-Lee. Another exciting study abroad opportunity offered in CLAS is the Paris Research Center's "Intensive Weeklong Study Over Spring Break" program, which provides an in-depth international experience at the uni- versity's own classroom site at Reid Hall in Paris' Mont- parnasse Quarter. UF students travel to Paris where they take part in courses offered by UF faculty. This year, Associate Professor of English Andrew Gordon taught Americans in Paris, while English Professor Brian McCrea taught Frances Burney in Paris: Revolutionary Women, Imperial Men and the Invention of Ideology. In addition to spring break, students also have the option of studying abroad during the intersession between the spring and summer semesters. The Paris Research Center is offering a program May 7-13, 2006, before the Summer A term begins on May 15, with the course HUM 4956/WST 3930, Seeing the Other: French Representations of Non-Western Culture. There are also a few two-week trips being organized this sum- mer, including the Center for African Studies' "UF in Senegal" experience. For Matt Williams-who, after his spring break trip to Berlin in 2005 immediately participated in a summer-long study abroad to Fez, Morocco-shorter excursions give students a taste of international travel and usually ignite a desire for more world experiences. "It was great preparation for hopefully a life of travel to come. -Buffy Lockette UF students huddle together for warmth in Berlin's Pots- damer Platz next to a small remnant of the Berlin Wall. Political Science Associate Professor Ido Oren takes students in his War and Peace in World Politics course to Germany each spring break to enhance the material covered in class. CLASnotes March 2005 page 4 Kent Annan Chris Bachelder John Barth Harold Bloom Anne Carson Ariel Dorfman Carol Frost Bob Hicok Lawrence Joseph David Kirby David Lehman Randall Mann Judith H. Montgomery Les Murray Lucia Perlllo Elleen Pollack Paisley Rekdal Joanna Scott Ben Sonnenberg Manil Suri Abigail Thomas Guven Turan i I Iso ISUE WIsNTERSPRING 200 Si-s A Subtropical Creation Publishing a national literary magazine is more than seek- ing out and showcasing the pennings of talented writers. It also involves all the burdensome little details: bar codes, ISSN numbers, printer bids. For the English professors who have created UF's new literary magazine subtropics, the business of creating a magazine meant taking nothing for granted and relying on the kindness of the literary world. "We were a little naive, as none of us had done it before," says David Leavitt, subtropics founder and a creative writing professor in the English department. "It was like building a bridge while cross- ing it, though I don't think there is any other way to start a magazine." There was an especial sense of urgency in producing the first issue and getting it off on the right track, so that what followed would not be trapped by initial mistakes. UF's former literary magazine, The Florida Quarterly, faded out so long ago that no one remembers the exact date of the final issue. When Leavitt arrived at the university five years ago, he thought it was time for a replacement. A couple of years later, department chair John Leavey gave the go-ahead and fundraising began. Dona- tions from UF's Research Foundation, the CLAS Dean's Office, Storter-Childs Printing and individual supporters finally allowed Leavitt, poetry editor Sidney Wade and managing editor Mark Mitchell to begin working on the magazine itself last year. On January 26, Manhattan book- store Rizzoli's hosted the magazine's launch party. A year's worth of reading, editing and bureaucratic finessing was embodied in the 146-page magazine being celebrated with cocktails and sushi. "Our goal was to put out a knock- out first issue," says Leavitt. He solic- ited work from literary agents, while creative writing professor Wade relied on her knowledge of the poetry world. A letter was sent to famed poet Les Murray in Australia, who replied imme- diately with two poems. Then Wade received a postcard from him. The New Yorker had unexpectedly published one of the two poems, but he would write another. "I was so thrilled that he was writing one especially for me," says Wade. "And he did!" Meanwhile, Leavitt searched for the kind of stories-fiction and non- fiction-that, if read elsewhere, would be described to friends as a must-read. For Wade: "The poems that I enjoy catch me physically, either in a laugh or an intake of breath." Submissions are now surging in, about 20 a week, while the extra work- load means creative writing graduate students will do more of the initial reading of unsolicited manuscripts. Student Dave Reidy says he appreciated the opportunity to dig into pieces by writers like Har- old Bloom and John Barth. "For someone of my age and station that is a rare opportunity." Though distinctly a local project, subtropics is a national magazine with the ambition of featur- ing some of the best work being written today. In addition to paying its writers at the top of the spec- trum-$1,000 for prose, $500 for short pieces, $100 for poetry-the magazine also stands apart from com- petitors by providing its writers with a true rarity in the literary world: constructive feedback. While a large plastic bin sits in Mitchell's office to catch rejected submissions, Mitchell says they take the time to coax and encourage those with potential. "My job is to say 'Don't be afraid; keep at it. Write without fear."' Kent Annan, whose non-fiction sketches on liv- ing in Haiti are in the first issue, had his first and second pieces rejected but was so encouraged by the honesty and promise in the critiques that he contin- ued to push himself until he wrote a piece subtropics was willing to publish. "Some weeks later I sent a third," he says. "I said 'I promise not to bug you any- more but I think this one is perfect'." Mitchell agreed. "It was always close, and finally he nailed it." The second issue of subtropics, due out in May, will include works by poet laureate Billy Collins and poems by a forgotten Florida poet laureate, Vivian Laramore Rader. The inaugural issue can be pur- chased at Goerings Book Store or from Amazon.com. Michal Meyer CLASnotes March 2005 page 5 Childhood & Literacy Identifying reading problems before they begin Parents no longer have to wait until their children are in ele- mentary school to find out if they are going to struggle with a reading disability. Communication Sciences and Disorders Pro- fessor Linda Lombardino has developed a language and literacy test for children ages 4-7 that is able to diagnose pre-illiteracy. "Our goal is to identify children as early as we can who are having difficulties so we can do interven- tions immediately rather than waiting until they are failing in reading," Lombardino says. The Assessment of Literacy and Language exam- designed for speech and language pathologists, reading specialists and special educators-can predict in about an hour whether a child is going to have trouble reading. "We know from studies that have been done that early interven- tion makes a very big difference," says Lom- bardino. "Children can learn the concepts they need and not fall as far behind as they would have had they not had the treatment." Available since November, the test focus- es on early identification and prevention of severe reading problems by look- ing at three dimensions of language-spoken lan- guage (vocabulary, word meaning and syntax), phonological processing (the ability to manipu- late sounds and words through rhyming and letter deletion), and basic literacy tasks (alphabet knowledge, book han- dling). The test is unique in that it is the first in the field of speech and language pathology to examine both spoken and written language exten- sively in young children. Lombardino's Assessment of Literacy and Language test, appropriately nick- named "ALL" for short, provides the nation's first standardized method of evaluating both areas of communication simulta- neously. "Speech patholo- gists have not been working in the realm of reading for very long," says Lombardino. "Usu- ally, when children have reading problems they go to learning disability specialists, so the role of the speech pathologist in reading is a relatively new one for us, though it shouldn't have been-we should have been doing it for years. In response to The American Speech and Language Association's recently published posi- tion paper on the role of speech language patholo- gists in written language development, the field is now recognizing its integral role in reading. CLASnotes March 2005 page 6 "In order to be a good reader you must have good semantics and syntax and a mastery of the sound system," says Lombardino. "These are things speech pathologists know well, we just haven't applied our knowledge to written language up until now. Lom- bardino has with reading disabili Parents from all over South bring their ch to the clinic to deter the extent of their re problems. The clinic is esp ly known for its thoi diagnosis of dyslexia Susan Barton, found of Bright Solutions f Dyslexia in San Califor oft "There are many reasons kids have trouble. One tends to be a learning disability thai has a neurobiological basis and often inherited, and the other environmental. Our goal is to pick these kids up, regard- less of the reason." been ahead of the game in this regard for quite some time. More than a decade ago she established the UF Read- ing Clinic within the department's Speech and Hearing Clinic so gradu- ate students in speech- language pathology can learn how to test, diag- nose and treat children CLASnotes March 2005 pa to the ic. "Many par who followed my rec mendation and had children tested at Dr Lombardino's clinic called back and than me," she says. "Not did they get an excel report within a short od of time, but the s was professional, treat the parents with resp ties. and answered their many Sthe questions." ildren Lombardino says mine while dyslexia is one of ading the most common learn- ing disabilities in the US, ecial- she estimates only 8-15 rough percent of children with reading problems suffer er from a biologically based or reading disability. The far Jose, more common culprit is a nia, lack of exposure to read- en ing and language skills refers in the home and/or poor instruction in school. "There are many rea- sons kids have trouble," she says. "One tends to be a learning disability iS that has a neurobiological basis and is often inher- iS ited, and the other is environmental. Our goal is to pick these kids up, regardless of the reason." Lombardino says parents should be reading tients to their children daily for din- at least a half-hour, tak- ents ing time to point out the com- words as they read them. their She is in the process of extending the test to have encompass children from ked ages 3 up to the third only grade. Visit www.csd.ufl. lent edu/speech.html for more Speri- information on the UF taff Reading Clinic. ated -Buffy Lockette ect Reaching Out to the Community The UF Speech and Hearing Clinic recently received a $50,000 grant from The Blue Foun- dation for a Healthy Florida to increase clinic services to adults who live in Alachua County and surrounding areas. Currently, adults on Medicaid or those without health insurance have no access to speech-language p trl-.. ..', services. The UF clinic expects to serve at least 40 to 50 individuals, ages 21 to 64, during the year of grant funding. "Our ability to communicate using the spoken word has a significant impact on our ability to participate in the workforce and in social interaction," says Judith Wingate, a clini- cal assistant professor in the communication sciences and disorders department, who also directs the speech services division of the clinic. "This generous grant from The Blue Founda- tion will increase our clinical services to adults with speech deficits who otherwise have no access to speech-language therapy services." Wingate says the grant will also benefit speech-language p arl.. .. ,' and audiology students by providing them access to a greater variety of clients for their clinical training. Additionally, the funding will enable clinical researchers to document the need for speech- language p rl. .1...;, services in the Gainesville area. "Without rehabilitative therapy, individuals suffering speech and language impairment due to stroke or head injury or those with voice and stuttering problems often experience barriers to independent living-such as employment and social interaction," explains Wingate. The pro- gram also will provide guidance for caregivers to reinforce therapy in the home. The clinic submitted its first application to the Blue Foundation this year, and is one of nine organizations to receive funding during this cycle. The foundation is Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida's philanthropic affiliate. page 7 Gene Usner (far left) and Diana Mackoul (far right) of the Blue Foundation present Judith Wingate, Betsy Partin Vinson and Christine Sapienza with a check for $50,000. Geography Student Cambridge Bound UF senior Justin Bangs has received a full scholarship to the University of Cambridge as one of 40 Gates Cambridge Scholars from the US. He will pursue a master's degree in environment, society and development in the department of geography. An Orlando native, Bangs graduates in May with a double major in political sci- ence and history and a minor in women's studies. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation estab- lished the Gates Cambridge scholarship in 2000 to enable outstanding young men and women from out- side the United Kingdom to study as graduate students at the University of Cambridge. The trustees award scholarships on the basis of leadership, intellectual abil- ity and desire to use knowledge to contribute to the well-being of society. A Second Fulbright for Scher Political Science Professor Richard Scher has received a Fulbright Senior Scholar award for the 2006-2007 aca- demic year. Scher, who previously received the honor for the 2002-2003 academic year, plans to use his new award in conjunction with his current sabbatical from UE "The senior specialist program is for scholars who want to visit or teach in a foreign country but for a limited time," says Scher, who plans to be in Hungary in the fall. The senior award is for a maximum of six weeks per semester, and it is typical for the senior scholar to reside at a host institution and give three or four lec- tures at universities in the country. Mark Your Calendars The UF Debate Team, housed in the Dial Center for Written and Oral Communication, is hosting the 29th Annual American Forensics Association National Indi- vidual Events Tournament for the first time since 1996 on March 31-April 3. An estimated 2,000 students and faculty members from all 50 states are expected to attend this prestigious event. The debates are free and open to the public. For a schedule of events visit www. cwoc.ufl.edu/debate/afaniet/index.htm CLASnotes encourages letters to the editor. E-mail editor@clas.ufl.edu or send a letter to CLASnotes, PO Box 117300, Gainesville FL 32611. CLASnotes reserves the right to edit submissions for punctuation and length. page 8 Around the College Physicist to Lead World's Largest High Energy Project UF physicist Jacobo Konigsberg has been invited to head the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) collaboration for the next two years. The CDF international experimental collaboration is committed to studying high energy particle colli- sions at the world's highest energy particle accelerator, near Chicago. Physicists use the accelerator to uncover the identities and properties of the particles that make up the universe and to understand the forces and interactions between those particles. Konigsberg's formal title is spokesper son, which is a title "commonly used in particle physics experiments to denote the leader of the experiment," says Konigsberg, who has worked on the CDF for 16 years. Konigsberg will lead the scientific and managerial team, and his duties include monitoring scientific results, including research publications. He also is charged with ensuring the smooth running of the technology underpinning the experiments. His other roles include overseeing all other high-level management positions, setting the lab's priorities and ensuring the CDF gets the money and support it needs to carry out its mandate. In Memory Professor Emeritus of Geology James Lynwood Eades died January 21 at Harbor Chase Assisted Living Facility in Gainesville. He was 84. Eades joined UF as an associate professor in geology in 1970, and served as chair from 1973 to 1980. He retired in 2001. He was internationally known for his work on lime stabilization of soils. In his teaching role, he chaired and served on many graduate committees. An adjunct faculty member in the Department of Civil Engineering, Eades o also served on many engineering society committees. A memorial service will be held April 11 at Highlands Presbyterian Church in Gainesville. Submit Your Accolades Online Have you recently published a journal article or presented your research at a con- ference? We'd like to know about it and include this information on a new Web page dedicated to listing faculty and graduate student journal publications and conference presentations. You can submit your information online at http://clasnews.clas.ufl.edu/news/clasnotes/papersform, and the listing will appear at http://clasnews.clas.ufl.edu/news/clasnotes/papers.html Read CLASnotes online at http://clasnews.clas.ufl.edu CLASnotes March 2005 CLAS Staff Sweep Superior Accomplishment Awards Six CLAS employees have received a divisional UF Superior Accomplish- ment Award in recognition of their outstanding and meritorious service to the university. They are: Debbie Butler, communication sciences and disorders office manager; Barbara Dyer, France-Florida Research Insti- tute and Paris Research Center program assistant; Jolee Gibbs, linguistics office assistant; Kimberly Holloway, botany program assistant; Melvin Horton, physics senior engineering technician; Sue Lawless-Yanchisin, political science program assistant. Each of the awardees received $200, a certificate of appreciation and a memento coffee mug. They also are under consideration for the univer- sity-wide awards, which will be announced on April 25. Colburn Selected as Senior Adviser State University System of Florida Chancellor Mark Rosenberg has appointed History Professor David Colburn to serve as his senior adviser, a newly created position in the State University System. Colburn, who served as UF's provost and senior vice president for academic affairs from 1999 to 2004, will advise the chancellor and the Florida Board of Governors on higher education issues related to access and diversity. "Mark has asked me to examine the process by which students apply to the state universities and how they are admitted," says Colburn. "I also will work on strengthening the global competitiveness of the state university system. With a new chancellor in place, this is an opportune time to be involved in higher education in the state of Florida. It's hard to build strong universities if they all are com- peting against each other, so we need to find ways to improve the entire system." The new position was announced at the end of January, and Colburn expects to serve two to four years in this capacity. He will remain a faculty member at UF, maintaining a campus office and teaching courses. Col- burn currently directs the Reubin O'D. Askew Institute on Politics and Society at UF, which provides public programs to civic leaders and citizens of Florida on critical issues confronting the state. Former Governor Reu- bin Askew and Colburn have collaborated in this effort since 1994. "David Colburn is a historian of high regard, and as provost of the University of Florida he provided distinguished leadership and earned respect throughout the state as a gifted administrator," says Chancellor Rosenberg. "As senior adviser, he will bring his wisdom and experience to bear on some of the leading challenges we face as the State University System-including developing broad issues of strategy and building part- nerships throughout the state of Florida." As chancellor, Rosenberg leads a system of 11 public universities with more than 280,000 students and helps the Florida Board of Governors provide guidance and set statewide policies on higher education. Previ- ously, Rosenberg was provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Florida International University. The Florida Board of Governors is the constitutional body created by voters in 2002 to provide leadership and coordination of Florida's public universities. CLASnotes March 2005 DEPARTMENT NEWS Anthropology The January 2006 issue of A.-.'. ..:... '.. News profiled UF's anthropology department as one of four exemplary "integrative departments in pursuit of holism" in the article "Models for the Future ofAnril- ..p. .1. .,-." The article addresses the issue of whether departments should divide along subdisciplinary lines. The other exemplars for inte- gration were Emory University, the University of Pennsyl- vania and Arizona State University. Communication Sciences and Disorders Laura B. Demetree, a Doctor of A.li..i1.._,, student, recently received the 2005-2006 Outstanding Second-Year Au.D. Student Scholarship from the Au.il.. ., Founda- tion of America (AFA). She is one of two students nation- wide to receive the $4,500 award in recognition of her academic achievement and professional potential. The AFA is committed to fostering the education and training of audiologists and to promoting the autonomous practice of audiology for the benefit of the general public. Geography Several students swept statewide awards during the Florida Society of Geographers Meeting held in St. Petersburg in February. In addition, five faculty members, four under- graduates and 12 graduate students made presentations at the meeting. The winning topics range from physical sci- ence to political geography. Phillip Morris, Ashish Patel and Matthew Graham won the Best Poster Award for "Physical Geography on the Net: Interactive Laboratory Learning." The award for Best Undergraduate Presentation went to Joshua Berger and Jordan Wright for "Estimation of Spatial Variability of Monthly Precipitation Within the Tiribi Basin, Costa Rica." Each student received a $100 prize. Cerian Gibbes received $200 and the Best Graduate Presentation award for "Assessment of Land Cover Change and Conservation Effectiveness in Trinidad." Samuel (Saemi) Lederman received an Honorable Mention for Best Graduate Presen- tation for "The World Trade Organization's Doha Round: An Historical Breakthrough for Africa's Cotton Farmers?" Physics The UF chapter of the Society of Physics Students (SPS) has received an Outstanding Chapter Award from the national office for the third time in the past four years. The honor is due, in large part, to the strong leadership of Presi- dent Catherine Yeh and Vice President Layla Booshehri, who each were awarded national SPS leadership scholar- ships in Spring 2005. The club is advised by Yoonseok Lee and membership is open to all UF undergraduates with an interest in physics. For more information, go to www.phys.ufl.edu/-sps. page 9 Grants NSF Insures a Great Start to Their CAREERs This summer, deep in an underground laboratory in Italy's Abbruzzese Moun- tains, Assistant Physics Professor Laura Baudis will attempt to solve one of the most challenging puzzles in cosmology today. The National Science Foundation has awarded Baudis a CAREER grant, allowing her to continue her research, which uses liq- uid xenon to detect non-baryonic dark mat- ter, a material that holds galaxies and clus- ters together but emits no electromagnetic radiation. According to the very successful concordance model of cosmology, non- baryonic dark matter constitutes 23 percent of the universe, however the composition of dark mat- ter and its distribution in the galaxy remain unclear. Baudis hopes D her research will help unveil a some of the mysteries of dark matter, leading to a greater understanding of how our galaxy and the larger structures in the universe formed. Baudis, who joined the physics depart- ment in 2004, and is the department's third female faculty member, never planned to have a career in physics. In high school, she enjoyed literature, math and science classes, but not until she took modern physics in her final year did she realize she wanted to become a physicist. "If I wouldn't have been forced to take it, I probably wouldn't have realized how much I liked it, and it's pretty fun," she says. Baudis plans to use part of her CAREER grant to help continue her men- toring program for female physics students. The program pairs a graduate student men- tor with an undergraduate student, aiming to increase the number of women who obtain advanced degrees in physics, and also invites guest speakers to talk to the students about the challenges facing women in the field of science. She says these role models are important because they show female students it is possible for them to have suc- cessful, rewarding careers in science. The NSF also awarded a CAREER grant to Assistant Chemistry Professor Ron- ald Castellano, who came to UF in 2002 after receiving his PhD in chemistry from MIT and training as a postdoctoral fellow at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Switzerland. Castellano's research focuses on self-assembly, which is the spontaneous association of molecules into larger aggre- gates. In nature, multiple copies of a mono- mer or functional unit come together to create a new entity with properties and functions distinct from those of the mono- mers that formed it. Castellano and his team of students will use self-assembly as a tool to create new devices and materials, focusing on sigma-coupled donor-acceptor molecules as the aggregating species. Until recently, such systems have been studied only at the molecular level. "The more we learn about how nature creates large complex machinery from rela- tively small building blocks, the better we can understand biological function, design new therapeutics to interfere with biological function (drugs), and apply related strate- gies to other problems and disciplines in science," Castellano says. "Our ability to exercise control in how small molecules organize in solution and on surfaces has a dramatic consequence on their properties. The more strategies at our disposal to con- trol such behavior, the better." Castellano's CAREER grant integrates an outreach project called Partnerships in the Chemical and Materials Sciences (PIT- CAMS), which aims to enhance chemical and material science knowledge of local 8-12th grade science tella teachers through workshops and symposia. Castellano, who will dedicate about $40,000 to PITCAMS, was thrilled to receive financial support for his research, but he finds NSF's willingness to also invest in research and education endeavors an equally exciting aspect of receiving the CAREER award. "It will become increasingly impor- tant that our profession, academia at large research institutions, acknowledges the educational role that faculty play," Castel- lano says. "From undergraduate and gradu- ate mentoring to outreach and innovative instructional activities, our most vital role is in education and mentoring." The NSF's most prestigious award program for junior faculty, the CAREER program, receives about 2,500 proposals a year. CAREER awards support early career- development activities of junior faculty who show successful integration of research and education and provide a minimum grant of $400,000 during a five-year period. -Tiffany Iwankiw Grants Through the Division of Sponsored Research December 2005 January 2006 Total: $5,739,411 Read the full grants listing at http://clasnews.clas.ufl.edu/news.html in this month's issue of CLASnotes online. page 10 CLASnotes March 2005 Bookbeat Recent publications from CLAS faculty San Jacinto 1: A Historical Ecological Approach to an Archaic Site in Colombia Augusto Oyuela-Caycedo (Anthropology) and Ren&e M. Bonzani, University of Alabama Press The inhabitants of San Jacinto could not understand why Augusto Oyuela-Cay- cedo and his fellow researchers were spend- ing money to "dig a hole in the ground" in violence-ridden Colombia. But San Jacinto 1, and its ceramics, hooked Oyuela-Caycedo from the moment he saw it. Five years later, the UF inrl-..p. .1. ., professor began exca- vating the site, located close to the Caribbean Sea in northern Colombia. But obstacles constantly sur- faced: the small town where the excavation took place suffered a lengthy drought that dramati- cally raised water prices; unemploy- u mment and vio- lence continued to grow; and Oyuela-Caycedo's neighbor was kidnapped. Residents, puzzled by the activity, called the excavation site "la piscina," or the swimming pool. Despite these challenges, the dig at San Jacinto 1 revealed the oldest-known pottery in the New World and clues to the lifestyles of people who lived in the area more than 7,000 years ago. The publication of San Jacinto 1: A Historical EcologicalApproach to an Archaic Site in Colombia is the culmina- tion of two decades of research and analysis in San Jacinto for Oyuela-Caycedo. "It's like closing a mental door," he says. "I started this project in 1986, the minute I saw the site and fell in love with it."The book focuses on both the processes and the conclusions of the archaeological excavation. The fiber-tempered pottery found at the site, used for collecting plants and cooking, points to a reduction in mobility and an increase in territorial control. "The people who made the pottery were already collecting plants that became domesticated, including maize," says Oyuela- Caycedo. Evidence also shows that the people who occupied the site were hunter-gatherers, whose movements from base camps to spe- cial-purpose camps were determined by the changing, highly seasonal environment. These people visited San Jacinto during the dry season, cooking in earthen ovens and collect- ing and processing plants to make fermented beverages. A Historical Ecological Although six Approach to an Archaic SSite in Colombia researchers con- ,A.,,... .,. tinue to analyze evidence from the site to create a sequel to the book, Oyuela- Caycedo views the publication of San Jacinto 1 as the closing of one chapter in his life and the start of a new one. Current efforts focus on the site of Quistococha in the more peaceful country of Peru. The site, located near the city of Iquitos, is the first in the Upper Amazon to be associated with dark soil, or soil modified by human activity to increase productivity. Oyuela-Caycedo plans to travel to Quisto- cocha with 15 undergraduate students this summer in an effort to learn the cultural characteristics of the people who lived there more than 2,000 years ago. "Curiosity is what drives me," Oyuela- Caycedo says. "Who were these people, what were they like, and what challenges did they face?" -Tiffany Iwankiw International Change and the Stability of MultiEthnic States, Badredine Arfi (Political Science), Indiana Uni- versity Press This book proposes a new way of viewing and dealing with the problems of ethnic conflict and coopera- tion in multiethnic states destabilized by the changing environment of the post-Cold War era. Analyzing important moments in the his- tory of Lebanon and the former Yugoslavia, Arfi theorizes that the governance of these societies is transformed under changing inter- national conditions, providing new insights on how policy making can be improved to respond to the challenges posed by the creation, maintenance, transformation and collapse of state governance in multiethnic societies. Living with AIDS. Ill- ness, Death r Social Relationships in Africa. An Ethnography, Hansjoerg Dilger (Afri- can Studies/Anthropol- ogy), Campus Verlag More than 2 mil- lion people died of AIDS in Africa in 2003. Drawing on longtime field- work in Tanzania, Hansjoerg Dilger describes the re-negotiation of social and cultural rela- tionships in the context of rural-urban migra- tion and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Ongoing confrontation with illness and death leads to ruptures in kinship relations, and to stigmati- zation of HIV/AIDS victims. Yet individuals, families and communities have reordered social and cultural relationships in the context of crisis to counter the effects that HIV/AIDS has on the social fabric, and to re-establish control over the inseparable unity of life and death. -Author Summary Conspiracy Narratives in Roman History, . Victoria Pagan (Clas- sics), University of Texas Press From the earliest days of the Republic to the waning of the Empire, conspiracies and intrigues created shadow worlds that undermined the openness of Rome's represen- tational government. Victoria Pagan examines the narrative strategies that five prominent his- torians used to disclose events that had been deliberately shrouded in secrecy and silence. She compares how Sallust, Livy and Tacitus constructed their accounts of betrayed con- spiracies, revealing how a historical account of a secret event depends upon the transmittal of sensitive information from a private setting to the public sphere-and why women and slaves often proved to be ideal transmitters of secrets. CLASnotes March 2005 -Publisher page 11 and the I I Everybody Has One: Faculty Make Their Opinions Known In today's information age, opportunities abound for news junkies to opine on topics of interest-from trendy online blogs to the traditional newspaper opinions/editorial page. Amid all this noise, the college professor can often serve as a voice of reason- intelligently offering an "expert opinion" or broadening the discussion with insights from their own research. Linguistics Associate Professor Diana Boxer read a commentary on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" on January 30. Titled "The Etymol- ogy of Schmooze," the commentary referred to the scandal involv- ing lobbyist Jack Abramoff who a pled guilty in Janu- B ary to fraud and tax evasion charg- es. Boxer, who is working on a book, "The Lost Art of the Good Schmooze," discussed how Washington scandals such as Abramoff's have redefined the meaning of "schmooze" into a word with negative connotations. Her entire commentary can be accessed online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story. php?storyld=5179188. Meanwhile, The Chronicle ofHigher Education recently published an essay writ- ten by Women's Studies Assistant Professor Trysh Travis in its commentary section, "The Chronicle Review," in February. Titled "James Frey: Feelings as Facts," the essay dis- cussed the controversy surrounding Oprah's Bookclub best seller A Million Little Pieces, a memoir written by James Frey about his battle with drug and alcohol addiction, which was recently discovered to be, in many parts, fabricated. Her entire article can be read online at http://chronicle.com/weekly/v52/ i22/22b00501.htm Do you have an opinion you would like to share? The University of Florida Op-Ed Service, coordinated by UF News Bureau writer Aaron Hoover, assists UF faculty and staff with author- ing opinion pieces on timely issues. Hoover will assist with editing your piece for length, tone, style and readability. He also handles the pitching of the idea to media outlets around the country. For more information, contact Hoover at 392- 0186 or ahoover@ufl.edu. -Buffy Lockette UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA The Foundation for The Gator Nation. College of Liberal Arts and Sciences News and Publications 2008 Turlington Hall PO Box 117300 Gainesville FL 32611-7300 editor@clas.ufl.edu http://clasnews.clas.ufl.edu |