March 25, 2004

Vol. 14, No. 35

The "8 1/2 x 11 News" is published each week by the University Advancement Division. News of campus interest should be sent to one of the following editors:   Ed Delaney, 412-268-1609 (ed47@andrew.cmu.edu)
  Bruce Gerson, 412-268-1613 (bg02@andrew.cmu.edu)
  Susan Cribbs, 412-268-7521 (cribbs@andrew.cmu.edu)

The newsletter is available on the official.cmu-news and cmu.misc.news bulletin boards.

2001 Editions are available online.

2002 Editions are available online.

2003 Editions are available online.

Previous editions are available online.

During the next few weeks, staff occupying office space on the lower level through the fifth floor in Warner Hall will be relocated on campus and nearby while asbestos is removed from the building. Asbestos was removed from the sixth floor and lower level in prior renovations. For years the university has regularly tested the air quality and visibly inspected the asbestos above the ceilings in Warner Hall. The most recent testing has shown that the asbestos has begun to deteriorate. While there is no danger to building occupants according to the university's Environmental Health & Safety Department and other experts consulted by the university, it has decided to be proactive and remove the asbestos from the remaining floors at the same time before further deterioration occurs. There are also efficiency and cost savings to be realized by doing the work all at one time.

—While work is in progress, access to the sixth floor of Warner Hall will be through a connecting walkway in the basement of Cyert Hall. The project is expected to take several months. A list of the temporary office locations will be announced soon.

STUDENTS HELP HIGH SCHOOLERS PUBLISH POETRY ANTHOLOGY

Students in the Department of English's Creative Writing Program are sharing their skills with literary arts majors at the Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) as part of a collaborative project to publish a poetry anthology and host a poetry reading. The reading is at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 1, in CAPA's Black Box Theater, Downtown.

—The event is the culmination of a semester-long project in which Carnegie Mellon students who are enrolled in an advanced poetry workshop pair up with CAPA students to help their younger counterparts hone their writing skills. The university students assign readings for the CAPA students and help them revise their own work. Together, they publish "Boundary Street," a collection of poetry written by both groups of students.

—This year marks the third time students from the two schools have collaborated on this project supervised by Jim Daniels, director of the university's Creative Writing Program.

UNIVERSITY SUBLEASES OFFICE SPACE DOWNTOWN IN 6 PPG PLACE

To accommodate increasing staff growth, the university has subleased approximately 33,000 square feet of office space on the 11th and 14th floors of 6 PPG Place in downtown Pittsburgh. Some departments of the University Advancement (UA) Division will be the first tenants. The division, which includes alumni relations, development, and marketing and media relations operations, will maintain some staff and office space on campus, but about 120 - 150 staff members will move to 6 PPG Place.

—UA offices moving downtown include the Associate Vice President for Development, the Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations, the Associate Vice President for Marketing and Media Relations, some of the Alumni Relations department, Annual Giving, Bio Records, Gift Accounting, Development Research and Records, Individual Giving, Information Services, some of the Marketing Communications group, Planned Giving, Relationship Marketing, Special Events and VIP Relations.

—Some Alumni Relations staff will remain in Alumni House, which will continue to serve as the central visiting and meeting space on campus for returning alumni. Other operations staying on campus include the offices of the Vice President (Warner Hall), the Assistant Vice President for Media Relations (Alumni House), Advancement Communications (Alumni House), Communications Design (Printing & Publications Building), Corporate Relations (Warner Hall), Foundation Relations (Warner Hall), college- and school-based media relations development (respective college and school buildings), and Telemarketing (Resnik).

—Phone numbers will remain the same and mail to UA departments should continue to be sent via campus mail.

NEWS BRIEFS

—University Libraries have strengthened their undergraduate book collections in four subject areas: environmental studies, history and anthropology, modern languages, and mathematical sciences. "Since 1998, donors including Emma O. Sharp (L'1936), Monica Wilkinson, the PNC Bank Charitable Trust Committee, the Japan Foundation, the Mary Hillman Jennings Foundation and the Philip M. McKenna Foundation, Inc. have given more than $275,000 to augment the targeted collection areas," said Gloriana St. Clair, dean of University Libraries.

PERSONAL MENTION

—The Henry Luce Foundation has selected Amy Wendholt, a Heinz School student, for its Luce Scholars program. Established in 1974 to "increase awareness of Asia among future leaders in American society," the foundation selects 15 students each year to serve as interns in Asian countries. Wendholt hopes to conduct her internship in the Chinese government, focusing on taxing and spending policies.

—The College of Humanities and Social Sciences has named Susan Polansky, a teaching professor of Spanish, the winner of the Elliott Dunlap Smith Award, which is given annually to honor excellent undergraduate teaching. Polansky has taught at Carnegie Mellon since 1986 and is the associate head of the Department of Modern Languages. She is well known on campus as the teacher of Tutoring for Community Outreach, in which Carnegie Mellon students go to local public schools to tutor elementary, middle or high school students in Spanish. Elliott Dunlap Smith was provost of the Carnegie Institute of Technology from 1946 to 1959.

—The Jewish Sports Review has named senior Chad Zimmerman, a chemical engineering major, to the 2003 College Football All-American Team for the second consecutive season. Information: official.cmu-news, March 22.

—Josephine Jacobs, secretary for the journal "Metallurgical and Materials Transactions" in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, retired on March 12 after almost 17 years of service to the university.

—Dan Martin, associate professor of drama and director of the Master of Arts Management program, was an invited participant in the American Assembly's deliberations on "The Creative Campus: The Training, Sustaining, and Presenting of the Performing Arts in American Higher Education." Martin was one of approximately 100 performing artists, university administrators, arts managers and scholars who gathered in upstate New York to discuss the issue of the dynamic, emerging partnerships between the performing arts and colleges and universities.

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

—March 25 - 28: Robert Page and daughter, Carolann Page, share the directors' title in the musical "Merrily We Roll Along." 8 p.m., March 25 - 27 and 2:30 p.m., March 28, Kresge Recital Hall. Tickets are $15 at the door, $12 in advance and $10 for students. To purchase tickets in advance, call the School of Music ticket office, 412-268-2383.

—Saturday, March 27: The David A. Tepper School of Business informational session for its MBA Flextime Program (designed for those interested in obtaining an MBA while continuing their careers). 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Posner Hall, Bach Auditorium (Room 152). Information: www.cmu.edu/mba or call 412-268-5687.

—Saturday, March 27: 12th Annual Regional Ballroom Dance Competition, Rangos Ballroom, UC. Andrew Pueschel (Events Management) will dance in the championship Latin category at the end of the evening. Competition times are listed at www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/ballroom/index.htm

—Monday, March 29: Open Mind Lecture Series. "Hidden Voices: The Lives of LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and questioning) Muslims." Faisal Alam, founder and director, Al-Fatiha Foundation. 4:30 p.m., Adamson Wing, Baker Hall.

—Monday, March 29: Graduate Women's Connecting Luncheon. "History of Women Grads at Carnegie Mellon." Jennie Benford, University Archivist. 12:15 - 1:15 p.m., Connan Room, UC. A hot lunch will be served. Register at http://gposerver.as.cmu.edu/registration/multiregis.html

—Tuesday, March 30: Carnegie Mellon will present its Dickson Prize in Science to Marc W. Kirschner, a pioneering cell biologist. 4:30 p.m., McConomy Auditorium, UC. Kirschner's groundbreaking research has influenced our understanding of the cell. Following the ceremony, Kirschner will discuss how external signals modify the internal cell cycle. Further information: www.cmu.edu/PR/releases04/040322_panthology.html

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